Systems and methods for identifying sensitive objects in a wireless charging transmission field

ABSTRACT

Embodiments disclosed herein may generate and transmit power waves that, as result of their physical waveform characteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, gain, direction), converge at a predetermined location in a transmission field to generate a pocket of energy. Receivers associated with an electronic device being powered by the wireless charging system, may extract energy from these pockets of energy and then convert that energy into usable electric power for the electronic device associated with a receiver. The pockets of energy may manifest as a three-dimensional field (e.g., transmission field) where energy may be harvested by a receiver positioned within or nearby the pocket of energy.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

This application generally relates to wireless charging systems and thehardware and software components used in such systems.

BACKGROUND

Numerous attempts have been made to wirelessly transmit energy toelectronic devices, where a receiver device can consume the transmissionand convert it to electrical energy. However, most conventionaltechniques are unable to transmit energy at any meaningful distance. Forexample, magnetic resonance provides electric power to devices withoutrequiring an electronic device to be wired to a power resonator.However, the electronic device is required to be proximately located toa coil of the power resonator (i.e., within a magnetic field). Otherconventional solutions may not contemplate user mobility for users whoare charging their mobile devices or such solutions do not allow devicesto be outside of a narrow window of operability.

Wirelessly powering a remote electronic device requires a means foridentifying the location of electronic devices within a transmissionfield of a power-transmitting device. Conventional systems typicallyattempt to proximately locate an electronic device, so there are nocapabilities for identifying and mapping the spectrum of availabledevices to charge, for example, in a large coffee shop, household,office building, or other three-dimensional space in which electricaldevices could potentially move around. Moreover, what is needed is asystem for managing power wave production, both for directionalitypurposes and power output modulation. Because many conventional systemsdo not contemplate a wide range of movement of the electronic devicesthey service, what is also needed is a means for dynamically andaccurately tracking electronic devices that may be serviced by thepower-transmitting devices.

Wireless power transmission may need to satisfy certain regulatoryrequirements. These devices transmitting wireless energy may be requiredto adhere to electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure protection standardsfor humans or other living beings. Maximum exposure limits are definedby US and European standards in terms of power density limits andelectric field limits (as well as magnetic field limits). Some of theselimits are established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)for Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE), and some limits are establishedby European regulators for radiation exposure. Limits established by theFCC for MPE are codified at 47 CFR §1.1310. For electromagnetic field(EMF) frequencies in the microwave range, power density can be used toexpress an intensity of exposure. Power density is defined as power perunit area. For example, power density can be commonly expressed in termsof watts per square meter (W/m2), milliwatts per square centimeter(mW/cm2), or microwatts per square centimeter (μW/cm2).

Accordingly, it is desirable to appropriately administer the systems andmethods for wireless power transmission to satisfy these regulatoryrequirements. What is needed is a means for wireless power transmissionthat incorporates various safety techniques to ensure that humans orother living beings within a transmission field are not exposed to EMFenergy near or above regulatory limits or other nominal limits. What isneeded is a means for monitoring and tracking objects within atransmission field in real-time and providing a means for controllingthe production of power waves to adaptively adjust to the environmentwithin the transmission field.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are systems and methods intended to address theshortcomings in the art and may provide additional or alternativeadvantages as well. Embodiments disclosed herein may generate andtransmit power waves that, as result of their physical waveformcharacteristics (e.g., frequency, amplitude, phase, gain, direction),converge at a predetermined location in a transmission field to generatea pocket of energy. Receivers associated with an electronic device beingpowered by the wireless charging system, may extract energy from thesepockets of energy and then convert that energy into usable electricpower for the electronic device associated with a receiver. The pocketsof energy may manifest as a three-dimensional field (e.g., transmissionfield), where energy may be harvested by receivers positioned within ornearby a pocket of energy. In some embodiments, transmitters may performadaptive pocket forming by adjusting transmission of the power waves inorder to regulate power levels based on inputted sensor data fromsensors or to avoid certain objects. A technique for identifyingreceivers in the transmission field may be employed to determine wherepockets of energy should be formed and where power waves should betransmitted. This technique may result in heat-map data, which is a formof mapping data that may be stored into a mapping memory for laterreference or computations. The sensors may generate sensor data that mayidentify areas that the power waves should avoid. This sensor data maybe an additional or alternative form of mapping data, which may also bestored into a mapping memory for later reference or computation.

In one embodiment, a processor-implemented method comprises determining,by a transmitter, a location within a transmission field to transmit oneor more power waves based upon sensor data from a sensor indicating aregion to avoid and heat-map data from a communications signalindicating a region containing a receiver; and transmitting, by thetransmitter, the one or more power waves into the transmission fieldbased upon the location, wherein the one or more power waves converge atthe location.

In another embodiment, a processor-implemented method comprises, inresponse to a transmitter receiving sensor data from one or moresensors: identifying, by the transmitter, a location of a sensitiveobject in a transmission field based upon the sensor data; in responseto receiving from a receiver a feedback signal indicating a location ofthe receiver in the transmission field; determining, by the transmitter,a pocket location within the transmission field, wherein the pocketlocation exceeds a threshold distance from the location of the sensitiveobject and is at least proximate to the location of the receiver; andtransmitting, by the transmitter, the one or more power waves to thepocket location within the transmission field.

In another embodiment, a system comprises a transmitter comprising asensor configured to detect a sensitive object in a transmission fieldand generate sensor data indicating a location of the sensitive object,and a communications component configured to communicate one or morecommunication signals with one or more receivers, wherein thetransmitter is configured to: identify a location of a sensitive objectin the transmission field upon receiving sensor data from the sensor,determine a pocket location within the transmission field in response tothe transmitter receiving from a receiver a feedback communicationsignal indicating a location of the receiver in the transmission field,the pocket location exceeding a threshold distance from the location ofthe sensitive object and is at least proximate to the location of thereceiver, and transmit the one or more power waves to the pocketlocation within the transmission field.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprisesreceiving, by a communications component of a user device and from atransmitter, a communications signal indicating one or morecharacteristics of one or more power waves transmitted by thetransmitter, at least one characteristic is a power level for the one ormore power waves; identifying, by the user device located at a receiverlocation, an amount of energy received from the one or more power waves;determining, by the user device, a pocket location for a pocket ofenergy, wherein the pocket location is where the one or more power waveshaving the one or more characteristics converge in the transmissionfield; and when the pocket location has a higher power level than thereceiver location, generating and displaying, by the user device, a userinterface having an indicator indicating a direction to the pocketlocation relative to the receiver location.

In another embodiment, a user device comprises a wireless communicationscomponent configured to receive from a transmitter a communicationssignal containing one or more parameters indicating one or morecharacteristics for one or more power waves; one or more antennasconfigured to gather power from a pocket of energy formed by the one ormore power waves converging at a pocket location; and a receiverprocessor configured to: identify an amount of energy received from theone or more power waves; identify an amount of energy transmitted in theone or more power waves, based upon one or more parameters received inthe communications signal; determine the pocket location; and generateand display a user interface having an indicator that indicates adirection to the pocket location relative to a receiver location.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprisestransmitting, by a transmitter, a low power wave to each of a pluralityof segments in a transmission field; in response to the transmitterreceiving a communications signal from a receiver containing dataindicating a segment containing the receiver: transmitting, by thetransmitter, one or more power waves configured to converge at thesegment containing the receiver.

A computer-implemented method comprises transmitting, by a transmitterdevice, into a transmission field associated with the transmitter deviceone or more power waves and a communications signal, the communicationssignal containing a first set of transmission parameters defining one ormore characteristics of the one or more power waves; in response to thetransmitter receiving via the communications signal from a receiverdevice, device data indicating a location of the receiver in thetransmission field: transmitting, by the transmitter device, a secondset of transmission parameters into a sub-segment of the transmissionfield in accordance with the device data, the second set of transmissionparameters defining the one or more characteristics of the one or morepower waves; determining, by the transmitter device, one or more refinedcharacteristics for the one or more power waves, based upon a set of oneor more refined parameters defining the one or more refinedcharacteristics, the refined parameters based upon refined location datareceived from the receiver device indicating a refined location withinthe sub-segment; generating, by the transmitter device, the one or morerefined power waves having the one or more refined characteristics,according to the set of refined parameters; and transmitting, by thetransmitter, the one or more refined power waves into the sub-segment ofthe transmission field, thereby forming a pocket of energy at therefined location.

In another embodiment, a wireless power system comprises a mappingmemory comprising non-transitory machine-readable storage mediaconfigured to store one or more receiver records containing data for oneor more receivers; one or more transmitters associated with atransmission field, a transmitter comprising: an antenna arrayconfigured to transmit an exploratory power wave into one or moresegments of a transmission field; a communications component configuredto: transmit to each respective segment of the transmission field a setof parameters indicating one or more characteristics of the exploratorypower wave transmitted into the respective segment, and transmit to asub-segment of a first segment a second set of parameters indicating oneor more refined characteristics of a second exploratory power wavetransmitted into the sub-segment, upon receiving location dataindicating the receiver is in the first segment from a receiver deviceat a location in a first segment; and a transmitter processor configuredto determine the one or more characteristics for the exploratory wavebased upon one or more parameters for each respective segment of thetransmission field, and determine the one or more refinedcharacteristics for the second exploratory power wave upon receiving thefirst segment location data from the receiver.

In another embodiment, a device-implemented method comprises receiving,by a transmitter and from a receiver, a communication signal via acommunication channel, the communication signal containing one or moreparameters identifying a first location of the receiver within atransmission field associated with the transmitter; upon receiving theone or more parameters: storing, by the transmitter, the one or moreparameters for the receiver into a mapping memory comprisingnon-transitory machine-readable storage media configured to store theone or more parameters; and transmitting, by the transmitter, the one ormore power waves to the first location in accordance with the one ormore parameters; and upon receiving one or more updated parameters fromthe receiver: transmitting, by the transmitter, the one or more powerwaves to a second location in accordance with the one or more updatedparameters.

In another embodiment, a wireless charging system comprises a mappingmemory database hosted in non-transitory machine-readable storage mediaconfigured to store one or more records of one or more locations in atransmission field associated with one or more transmitters; and atransmitter comprising: a communications component configured to receivefrom a receiver a communications signal containing one or moreparameters identifying a first location of the receiver; and an antennaarray comprising one or more antennas configured to transmit one or morepower waves to the first location in the transmission field, andtransmit the one or more power waves to the second location in thetransmission field in accordance with one or more updated parameters,upon the communications component receiving the one or more updatedparameters.

In another embodiment, a device-implemented method comprisestransmitting, by a transmitter, an exploratory wave to a first segmentof a transmission field comprising a plurality of segments; determining,by the transmitter, a sub-segment of the first segment containing areceiver upon receiving a communications signal from the receiverindicating that the receiver received the exploratory wave in thesub-segment of the first segment.

In another embodiment, a method comprises transmitting, by atransmitter, to a plurality of segments of a transmission fieldsequentially, an exploratory power wave and a communications signal foreach respective segment in the transmission field, wherein thecommunications signal transmitted to each respective segment containsdata indicating the respective segment to which the exploratory powerwave is transmitted; upon receiving a response message from a receiverat a first location within a first segment of the transmission field:transmitting, by the transmitter, sequentially to one or moresub-segments of the first segment, an exploratory power wave and acommunications signal, for each respective sub-segment in the firstsegment, wherein the communications signal transmitted to eachrespective sub-segment contains data indicating the respectivesub-segment to which the exploratory power wave is transmitted;determining, by the transmitter, a set of one or more characteristics ofone or more power waves to transmit to the receiver at the firstlocation; and generating, by the transmitter, the one or more powerwaves having the one or more characteristics.

In another embodiment, a wireless charging system comprises a mappingdatabase comprising non-transitory machine-readable storage mediaconfigured to store one or more records of one or more receivers in atransmission field; and a transmitter comprising: an array of one ormore antennas configured to transmit one or more power waves having oneor more characteristics according to a transmitter processor; acommunications component configured to communicate one or morecommunications signals with one or more receivers according to thetransmitter processor; and the transmitter processor comprisinginstructions for the transmitter to: transmit a plurality of segments ofa transmission field sequentially, an exploratory power wave and acommunications signal, for each respective segment in the transmissionfield, wherein the communications signal transmitted to each respectivesegment contains data indicating the respective segment to which theexploratory power wave is transmitted; upon receiving a response messagefrom a receiver at a first location within a first segment of thetransmission field, transmit sequentially to one or more sub-segments ofthe first segment, an exploratory power wave and a communicationssignal, for each respective sub-segment in the first segment, whereinthe communications signal transmitted to each respective sub-segmentcontains data indicating the respective sub-segment to which theexploratory power wave is transmitted; determine a set of one or morecharacteristics of one or more power waves to transmit to the receiverat the first location; and generate the one or more power waves havingthe one or more characteristics.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprisesreceiving, by a receiver device, from a transmitter device, anexploratory power wave and a communications signal requesting a feedbackcommunications signal based upon the exploratory power wave;transmitting, by the receiver, the feedback communications signalcontaining data indicating a location of the receiver relative to thetransmitter within a transmission field; receiving, by the receiver, asecond exploratory power wave and a second communications signalrequesting a second feedback communications signal based upon the secondexploratory power wave; and transmitting, by the receiver, the secondfeedback communications signal containing data indicating acomparatively more granular location of the receiver relative to thetransmitter within the transmission field.

In another embodiment, a receiver device comprises an antenna arraycomprising one or more antennas, an antenna configured to receive one ormore power waves and capture energy from the one or more power waves; acommunications component configured to receive one or morecommunications signals from a transmitter; and a receiver processorinstructing the receiver to: receive from a transmitter device anexploratory power wave and a communications signal requesting a feedbackcommunications signal based upon the exploratory power wave; transmitthe feedback communications signal containing data indicating a locationof the receiver relative to the transmitter within a transmission field;receive a second exploratory power wave and a second communicationssignal requesting a second feedback communications signal based upon thesecond exploratory power wave; and transmit the second feedbackcommunications signal containing data indicating a comparatively moregranular location of the receiver relative to the transmitter within thetransmission field.

In another embodiment, a method for wireless power transmissioncomprises acquiring, by at least one sensor in communication with atransmitter, data indicating a presence of an electrical apparatus;determining, by the transmitter, whether the electrical apparatus is areceiver designated to receive power from the transmitter according todata stored in a record stored in a database; and transmitting, by thetransmitter, one or more power waves to the electrical apparatus upondetermining the electrical apparatus is designated to receive power fromthe transmitter, wherein the one or more power waves are transmitted toconverge in a three dimensional space to form one or more pockets ofenergy at a location associated with the electrical apparatus.

In another embodiment, a transmitter for wireless power transmissioncomprises at least two antennas; a controller configured to controlpower waves broadcast by the transmitter through the at least twoantennas that converge in a three dimensional space to form one or morepockets of energy; a database operatively coupled to the controller,including identifying information for a device designated to receivepower from the transmitter; and at least one sensor configured to sensethe presence of an electrical apparatus and communicate to thecontroller data indicating the presence of the electrical apparatus;wherein the controller compares the data indicating the presence of theelectrical apparatus with the identifying information to determinewhether that device is designated to receive power from the transmitter,and if the device is designated to receive power from the transmitter,then the transmitter broadcasts through the at least two antennas thepower waves that converge in the three dimensional space to form the oneor more pockets of energy for receiving by the electrical apparatus tocharge or power the electrical apparatus.

A method for wireless power transmission, comprising acquiring, by atleast one sensor in communication with a transmitter, data indicatingthe presence of an electrical apparatus; matching, by the transmitter,the data indicating the presence of the electrical apparatus toidentifying information for a device designated to receive power fromthe transmitter; and transmitting, by the transmitter, power waves thatconverge in a three dimensional space to form one or more pockets ofenergy to charge or power the electrical apparatus.

In another embodiment, a device-implemented method comprises receiving,by a transmitter, from a tagging device, a device tag containing dataindicating a first location of a first receiver device; determining, bythe transmitter, one or more characteristics of one or more power wavesto transmit to the first receiver device based upon the first locationas indicated by the device tag; and transmitting, by the transmitter,the one or more power waves having the one or more characteristics tothe first location indicated by the device tag.

In another embodiment, a system comprises a mapping memory configured tostore one or more records of one or more receivers, each respectiverecord containing data indicating a location of a receiver; a taggingdevice configured to generate a device tag containing tagging data for areceiver, the tagging data configured to generate data indicating alocation of the receiver and instructions for one or more transmittersto transmit one or more power waves to the location of the receiver; anda transmitter comprising an array of antennas configured to transmit oneor more power waves to the location of the receiver as indicated by thedevice tag for the receiver in the memory database.

In another embodiment, a system comprises a transmitter configured toreceive sensor data from a sensor device coupled to the transmitter,determine whether the sensor data identifies an object to avoid, andtransmit one more power waves that avoid the object.

In another embodiment, a method for wireless power transmissioncomprises transmitting, by a transmitter, power waves that converge in athree dimensional space to form one or more first pockets of energy at apredetermined location for receiving by an antenna element of areceiver, wherein the receiver is configured to harvest power from theone or more first pockets of energy at the predetermined location;acquiring, by at least one sensor in communication with the transmitter,data indicating presence of a living being or a sensitive object;obtaining, by the transmitter, information relating to a location of theliving being or the sensitive object based upon the data indicating thepresence of the living being or the sensitive object; and determining,by the transmitter, whether to adjust a power level of the power wavesthat converge in the three dimensional space to form the one or morefirst pockets of energy at the predetermined location in response to theinformation relating to the location of the living being or thesensitive object.

In another embodiment, a transmitter for wireless power transmissioncomprises at least two antennas; a controller that controls power wavesbroadcast by the transmitter through the at least two antennas thatconverge in a three dimensional space to form one or more pockets ofenergy at a predetermined location for receiving by an antenna elementof a receiver; a transmitter housing containing the at least twoantennas; and at least one sensor located on the transmitter housing tosense presence of a living being or a sensitive object, and tocommunicate to the controller data relating to the presence of theliving being or the sensitive object; wherein the controller determineswhether to adjust a power level of the power waves that converge in thethree dimensional space to form the one or more pockets of energy at thepredetermined location in response to the data relating to the presenceof the living being or the sensitive object.

In another embodiment, a method for wireless power transmission,comprises transmitting, by a transmitter, power waves that converge in athree dimensional space to form a one or more pockets of energy at apredetermined location for receiving by antenna elements of a receiver,wherein the receiver harvests power from the one or more pockets ofenergy at the predetermined location; acquiring, by a plurality ofsensors in communication with the transmitter, data indicating presenceof a living being or a sensitive object; obtaining, by the transmitter,information relating to a location of the living being or the sensitiveobject based upon the data indicating the presence of the living beingor the sensitive object; and at least reducing, by the transmitter, thepower level of the power waves that converge in the three dimensionalspace to form the one or more pockets of energy at the predeterminedlocation, when the data relating to the presence of the living being orthe sensitive object indicates that the living being or the sensitiveobject is proximate to the three dimensional space at the predeterminedlocation.

In another embodiment, a method for wireless power transmission,comprises determining, by a transmitter, whether to transmit one or morepower waves to a receiver location by comparing the receiver locationand a path of the one or more power waves with a stored location of anentity to be excluded from receipt of the power waves; and upondetermining that the entity to be excluded is not at the receiverlocation and not in the path, transmitting, by the transmitter, the oneor more power waves to converge at the receiver location.

In another embodiment, a transmitter for wireless power transmissioncomprises at least two antennas; a database operatively coupled to acontroller, including a stored location indicating a location intransmission field for an entity to be excluded from receiving one ormore power waves; and the controller configured to control the one ormore power waves broadcast by the transmitter through the at least twoantennas that converge in a three dimensional space to form one or morepockets of energy at a receiver location, whereby the controller isconfigured to determine whether the stored location for the entity to beexcluded is at the receiver location or in a path of the one or morepower waves when transmitted to the receiver location, and transmit theone or more power waves upon determining that the entity to be excludedis not at the receiver location or in the path to the receiver location.

In another embodiment, a method for wireless power transmissioncomprises receiving, by a transmitter, from a tagging device, a devicetag containing data indicating a first location of an entity to beexcluded from receipt of power waves; determining, by the transmitter, asecond location of a receiver and a path of one or more power waves tothe receiver; determining, by the transmitter, whether the firstlocation as indicated by the device tag is the same as the secondlocation or in the path of the one more power waves; and transmitting,by the transmitter, the one or more power waves when the first locationis not the same as the second location or in the path of the one or morepower waves.

In another embodiment, a method in wireless power transmission system,the method comprising: determining, by a transmitter, one or moreparameters indicated by sensor data and mapping data; determining, bythe transmitter, an output frequency of the one or more power wavesbased on the one or more parameters; selecting, by the transmitter, oneor more antennas in one or more antenna arrays of the transmitter basedupon the one or more parameters and a spacing between the one or moreantennas in each of the one or more antenna arrays; and transmitting, bythe transmitter, one or more power waves using the output frequency andthe selected antennas.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: one or more transmitters, each of the one or moretransmitters comprising: one or more antenna arrays, each of the one ormore antenna arrays comprising one or more antennas configured totransmit power waves; a microprocessor is configured to, based on one ormore parameters, adjust a transmission of power waves by selecting oneor more additional transmitters, varying an output frequency of powerwaves, varying a selection of antennas in one or more antenna arrays, orselecting antennas to adjust spacing between the one or more antennas ineach of the one or more antenna array, to form a pocket of energy topower an electronic device.

In another embodiment, a method for wireless power transmission, themethod comprising: determining, by a transmitter, one or moretransmission parameters based upon mapping data and sensor data;determining, by the transmitter, one or more characteristics of powerwaves corresponding to the one or more transmission parameters, whereinthe one or more characteristics includes an amplitude and a frequency;generating, by a waveform generator of the transmitter, one or morepower waves having the one or more characteristics according to the oneor more transmission parameters, wherein the one or more power waves arenon-continuous waves; and adjusting, by the waveform generator of thetransmitter, the frequency and the amplitude of the one or more powerwaves based on one or more updates to the one or more transmissionparameters corresponding to the one or more characteristics of the oneor more power waves.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: one or more transmitters configured to determine oneor more transmission parameters based on mapping data and sensor data,each of the one or more transmitters comprising: one or more antennaarrays configured to transmit power waves, each of the one or moreantenna arrays comprising one or more antennas; and a waveform generatorconfigured to generate one or more power waves, wherein the one or morepower waves are non-continuous waves, and wherein the waveform generatoris further configured to adjust a frequency and an amplitude thatincreases and decreases based on the one or more transmissionparameters.

In another embodiment, a method for wireless power transmission, themethod comprising: receiving, by the transmitter, location data about alocation associated with one or more objects within a transmission fieldof the transmitter; transmitting, by the transmitter, one or more powerwaves to converge to form a pocket of energy at a location of a targetelectronic device; and transmitting, by the transmitter, one or morepower waves to converge to form a null space at the location of the oneor more objects.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: one or more transmitters, each of the one or moretransmitters comprising one or more antenna arrays, each of the one ormore antenna arrays comprising one or more antennas to transmit one ormore power waves to generate a null space at a location based onreceived location data that the location of one or more objects iswithin a transmission field of the one or more transmitters.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: one or more transmitters, each of the one or moretransmitters comprising one or more antenna arrays configured totransmit one or more power waves, wherein a first antenna of a firstantenna array is located at a distance from a second antenna of a secondantenna array such that the one or more power waves transmitted by theplurality of antennas are directed to form a pocket of energy to poweran targeted electronic device, wherein the transmitter is configured todetermine the distance between the first and second antennas based uponone or more parameters received in a communication signal from thetargeted electronic device.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: a transmitter comprising: one or more antenna arrays,each of the one or more antenna arrays comprises a plurality ofantennas, each of the antennas configured to transmit one or more powerwaves; and a microprocessor configured to activate a first set ofantennas of the plurality of antennas based on a target for directing apocket of energy using the one or more power waves, wherein the firstset of antennas are selected from the plurality of antennas based on adistance between antennas of the first set of antennas.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: a transmitter comprising at least two antenna arrays,wherein each of the at least two antenna arrays comprises at least onerow or at least one column of antennas configured to transmit one ormore power waves; and a microprocessor configured to controltransmissions of power waves from one or more antennas of the twoantenna arrays, wherein a first array of the at least two arrays ispositioned at a first plane spaced to be offset at a pre-defineddistance behind a second array of in a second plane in a 3-dimensionalspace.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: a transmitter comprising one or more antennasconfigured to transmit one or more power waves for forming a pocket ofenergy to power a targeted electronic device, wherein the one or moreantennas are positioned on a non-planar shaped antenna array surface ofa three dimensional array selected from the group consisting of aconcave shape and a convex shape.

In another embodiment, a system for wireless power transmission, thesystem comprising: a transmitter comprising one or more antennasconfigured to transmit one or more power waves, wherein the one or moreantennas are positioned on a non-planar shaped antenna array surface ofa three dimensional array selected from the group consisting of aconcave shape and a convex shape, and wherein the one or more antennasare positioned at a depth between 3 to 6 inches with respect to eachother such that the one or more power waves transmitted by each of theone or more antennas are directed to form a pocket of energy to power atargeted electronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings constitute a part of this specification andillustrate embodiments of the invention. The present disclosure can bebetter understood by referring to the following figures. The componentsin the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead beingplaced upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 shows components of an exemplary wireless charging system,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary method for transmitters to locate receiverswithin a transmission field, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows components of a wireless charging system for tracking andupdating mapping data for a transmission field of the exemplary system,where the exemplary system executes an exemplary method for locatingreceivers according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary wireless power system that employsheat-mapping, for identifying receivers, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary method for transmitting power wirelessly,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates steps of wireless power transmission using sensors,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates steps of wireless power transmission using sensors,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates steps of wireless power transmission using sensors,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates steps of wireless power transmission using sensors,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates generation of pocket of energy to power one or moreelectronic devices in a wireless power transmission system, according toan exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates generation of pocket of energy in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a graphical representation of formation of pocket ofenergy in a wireless power transmission system, according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates a method of formation of pocket of energy for one ormore devices in a wireless power transmission system, according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14A illustrates a waveform to form a pocket of energy in a wirelesspower transmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14B illustrates a waveform to form a pocket of energy in a wirelesspower transmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a method to generate a waveform in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates formation of a null space in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 17 illustrates a method for forming a null space in a wirelesspower transmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 18 illustrates arrangement of antennas in an antenna array of awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 19 illustrates arrangement of a plurality of antenna arrays in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 20 illustrates arrangement of a plurality of antenna arrays in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 21 illustrates an antenna array configuration in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 22C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 22A and22B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 23A and 23B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 23C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 23A and22B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 24A and 24B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 24C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 24A and24B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 25A and 25B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 25C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 25A and25B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 26A and 26B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 26C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 26A and26B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 27C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 27A and27B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 28C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 28A and28B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIGS. 29A and 29B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 29C illustrates a graph depicting a size of a pocket of energybecause of the antenna array configuration represented in FIGS. 29A and29B in a wireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 30 illustrates an antenna array configuration in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 31 illustrates an antenna array configuration in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 32 illustrates a method for forming a pocket of energy in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is here described in detail with reference toembodiments illustrated in the drawings, which form a part here. Otherembodiments may be used and/or other changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Theillustrative embodiments described in the detailed description are notmeant to be limiting of the subject matter presented here.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated inthe drawings, and specific language will be used here to describe thesame. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scopeof the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and furthermodifications of the inventive features illustrated here, and additionalapplications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated here,which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and havingpossession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope ofthe invention.

In the following description, the “transmitter” may refer to a device,including a chip that may generate and transmit one or more power waves(e.g., radio-frequency (RF) waves), whereby at least one RF wave isphase shifted and gain adjusted with respect to other RF waves, andsubstantially all of the waves pass through one or more antennas, suchthat focused RF waves are directed to a target. A “receiver” may referto a device including at least one antenna, at least one rectifyingcircuit, and at least one power converter, which may utilize a pocket ofenergy for powering or charging the electronic device. “Pocket-forming”may refer to generating one or more RF waves that converge in atransmission field, forming controlled pocket of energy and null space.A “pocket of energy” may refer to an area or region of space whereenergy or power may accumulate based on a convergence of waves causingconstructive interference at that area or region. The “null-space” mayrefer to areas or regions of space where pockets of energy do not form,which may be caused by destructive interference of waves at that area orregion.

A pocket of energy may be formed at locations of constructiveinterference patterns of power waves transmitted by the transmitter. Thepockets of energy may manifest as a three-dimensional field where energymay be harvested by receivers located within or proximate to the pocketof energy. The pocket of energy produced by transmitters duringpocket-forming processes may be harvested by a receiver, converted to anelectrical charge, and then provided to an electronic device (e.g.,laptop computer, smartphone, rechargeable battery) associated with thereceiver. In some embodiments, multiple transmitters and/or multiplereceivers may power various electronic devices. The receiver may beseparable from the electronic device or integrated with the electronicdevice.

In some embodiments, transmitters may perform adaptive pocket-formingprocesses by adjusting transmission of the power waves in order toregulate power levels based on inputted sensor data from sensors. In oneembodiment, adaptive pocket forming reduces the power level (measured,for example, as power density) of power waves at a given location. Forexample, adaptive pocket-forming may reduce the power level of powerwaves converging at a 3D location or region in space, thereby reducingor altogether eliminating the amount of energy used to form one or morepockets of energy at that location, in response to sensor readingsindicating a living being or sensitive object in proximity to thatlocation. In other embodiment, adaptive pocket forming uses “destructiveinterference” to diminish, reduce, or prevent the energy of power wavesconcentrated at that location. For example, transmitter may use“destructive inference” to diminish the energy of power wavesconcentrated at the location of an object, as sensed by one or moresensors, wherein the object is identified or “tagged” in a database oftransmitter to be excluded from receipt of power. In a furtherembodiment, adaptive pocket forming terminates power waves converging ata 3D location or region in space to form one or more pockets of energyat that location, in response to sensor readings indicating a livingbeing or sensitive object in proximity to that location.

Adaptive pocket forming may use a combination of these techniques inresponse to data from sensors. For example, using sensors that candetect presence and/or motion of objects, living beings, and/or asensitive object, based on a series of sensor readings at differenttimes, and, in response, a transmitter may reduce the power level ofpower waves when presence and/or motion data from sensors indicate thepresence and/or movement of an object to be avoided, such as a livingbeing and/or sensitive object, as those power waves are transmittedtoward a 3D region in space to produce one or more pockets of energyhaving a high power density. In some cases, the transmitter mayterminate or adjust the power waves when location data from sensorsindicates arrival or anticipated arrival of the living being orsensitive object within the 3D region of space with pockets of energy.

Communications signals may be produced by the receiver or thetransmitter using an external power supply and a local oscillator chip,which in some cases may include using a piezoelectric material.Communications signals may be RF waves or any other communication mediumor protocol capable of communicating data between processors, such asBluetooth®, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), radio-frequency identification(RFID), infrared, near-field communication (NFC), ZigBee, and others.Such communications signals may be used to convey information betweenthe transmitter and the receiver used to adjust the power waves, as wellas contain information related to status, efficiency, user data, powerconsumption, billing, geo-location, and other types of information.

Transmitters and receivers may use communications signals to communicateinformation relating to the receivers and/or the transmission field moregenerally, in the form of wireless signals carrying digital data, whichmay include mapping data, heat-map data, and data that is specific tothe particular wireless protocol, among other types of data. Atransmitter may use the information in the data communicated via thecommunications signal as input parameters, which the transmitter uses todetermine how the transmitter should produce and transmit power wavesfor receivers in the transmission field. That is, the transmitter mayuse the data about a transmission field, gathered from one or morereceivers, to determine, e.g., where receivers are in a transmissionfield, where or where not to transmit power waves, where to generatepockets of energy, the physical waveform characteristics for the powerwaves, and which antennas or antenna arrays should be used to transmitthe power waves. A person having ordinary skill in the art wouldappreciate that any number of possible wave-based technologies may beused to for generating power waves to provide energy to a receiver,including RF waves, ultrasound, microwave, laser light, infrared, andothers. It would also be appreciated that the power waves would havephysical waveform characteristics, such as amplitude, frequency,direction, power level, and others. In order to produce a pocket ofenergy at a particular location in the transmission field, thetransmitter may generate power waves having a particular set ofcharacteristics that cause the power waves to converge and form a pocketof energy at the desired location. In determining the appropriatecharacteristics, the transmitter may refer to the input parametersreceived as data from the receivers (via the communications signal), orfrom other sources, such as a mapping database or sensors. As previouslymentioned, the transmitter may also use the input parameters to makeadditional or alternative determinations related to power wavetransmission and receiver identification, such as determining whichantennas or antenna arrays should be used for generating andtransmitting the power waves.

Although the exemplary embodiments described herein mention the use ofRF-based wave transmission technologies, it should be appreciated thatthe wireless charging techniques that might be employed are not belimited to such RF-based technologies and techniques. Rather, it shouldbe appreciated there are additional or alternative wireless chargingtechniques, which may include any number of technologies and techniquesfor wirelessly transmitting energy to a receiver that is capable ofconverting the transmitted energy to electrical power. Non-limitingexemplary transmission techniques for energy that can be converted by areceiving device into electrical power may include: ultrasound,microwave, laser light, infrared, or other forms of electromagneticenergy. In the case of ultrasound, for example, one or more transducerelements may be disposed so as to form a transducer array that transmitsultrasound waves toward a receiving device that receives the ultrasoundwaves and converts them to electrical power. In addition, although theexemplary transmitter is shown as a single unit comprising potentiallymultiple transmitters (transmitter antenna array), both for RFtransmission of power and for other power transmission methods mentionedin this paragraph, the transmit arrays can comprise multipletransmitters that are physically spread around a room rather than beingin a compact regular structure.

I. Components of an Exemplary Wireless Charging System

FIG. 1 shows components of an exemplary wireless power transmissionsystem 100. The exemplary system 100 may comprise transmitters 101, anexternal mapping memory 117, a receiver 103, and an electronic device121 to be charged. Transmitters 101 may send various types of waves 131,133, 135, such as communication signals 131, sensor waves 133, and powerwaves 135, into a transmission field, which may be the two orthree-dimensional space into which transmitters 101 may transmit powerwaves 135.

In operation, transmitters 101 may transmit power transmission signalscomprising power waves 135, which may be captured by receivers 103configured to convert the energy of the power waves 135 into electricalenergy, for an electronic device 121 associated with the receiver 103.That is, the receivers 103 may comprise antennas, antenna elements, andother circuitry that may convert the captured power waves 135 into auseable source of electrical energy on behalf of electronic devices 121associated with the receivers 103. In some embodiments, transmitters 101may intelligently transmit the power waves 135 into a transmissionfield, by manipulating characteristics of the power waves 135 (e.g.,phase, gain, direction, frequency) and/or by selecting a subset oftransmitter antennas 115 from which to transmit the power waves 135. Insome implementations, the transmitters 101 may manipulate thecharacteristics of power waves 135 so that the trajectories of the powerwaves 135 cause the power waves 135 to converge at a predeterminedlocation within a transmission field (e.g., a 3D location or region inspace), resulting in constructive or destructive interference.

Constructive interference may be a type of waveform interference thatmay be generated at the convergence of the power waves 135 at aparticular location within a transmission field associated with one ormore transmitters 101. Constructive interference may occur when powerwaves 135 converge and their respective waveform characteristicscoalesce, thereby augmenting the amount of energy concentrated at theparticular location where the power waves 135 converge. The constructiveinterference may be the result of power waves 135 having particularwaveform characteristics that constructive interference results in afield of energy or “pocket of energy” 137 at the particular location inthe transmission field where the power waves 135 converge.

Destructive interference may be another type of waveform interferencethat may be generated at the convergence of the power waves 135 at aparticular location within a transmission field associated with one ormore transmitters 101. Destructive interference may occur when powerwaves 135 converge at particular location and their respective waveformcharacteristics are opposite each other (i.e., waveforms cancel eachother out), thereby diminishing the amount of energy concentrated at theparticular location. Where constructive interference may result ingenerating pockets of energy when enough energy is present, destructiveinterference may result in generating a negligible amount of energy or“null” at the particular location within the transmission field wherethe power waves 135 converge to form destructive interference.

A. Transmitters

Transmitters 101 may comprise or be associated with a processor (notshown), a communications component 111, a sensor 113, and an antennaarray 115. Processors may control, manage, and otherwise govern thevarious processes, functions, and components of the transmitters 101.Additionally or alternatively, transmitters 101 may comprise an internalmapping memory (not shown), and/or may be wired or wirelessly coupled toan external mapping memory 117.

i. Transmitter Processors

Transmitters 101 may comprise one or more transmitter processors thatmay be configured to process and communicate various types of data(e.g., heat-mapping data, sensor data). Additionally or alternatively, atransmitter processor of a transmitter 101 may manage execution ofvarious processes and functions of the transmitter, and may manage thecomponents of the transmitter 101. For example, the transmitterprocessor may determine an interval at which a beacon signal may bebroadcast by a communications component 111, to identify receivers 103that may inhabit the transmission field. As another example, theprocessor may generate heat-mapping data from communications signals 131received by the communications component 111, and then, based uponsensor data received from a sensor 113 or sensor processor, thetransmitter processor may determine the safest and most effectivecharacteristics for power waves 135. In some cases, a single transmitter101 may comprise a single transmitter processor. However, it should beappreciated that, in some cases, a single transmitter processor maycontrol and govern multiple transmitters 101. For example, thetransmitters 101 may be coupled to a server computer (not shown)comprising a processor that executes software modules instructing theprocessor of the server to function as a transmitter processor capableof controlling the behavior of the various transmitters 101.Additionally or alternatively, a single transmitter 101 may comprisemultiple processors configured to execute or control specified aspectsof the transmitter's 101 behavior and components. For example, thetransmitter 101 may comprise a transmitter processor and a sensorprocessor, where the sensor processor is configured to manage a sensor113 and generate sensor data, and where the transmitter processor isconfigured to manage the remaining functions of the transmitter 101.

It should be appreciated that an exemplary system 100 may comprise anynumber of transmitters 101, such as a first transmitter 101 a and asecond transmitter 101 b, which may transmit waves 131, 133, 135 intoone or more transmission fields. As such, the system 100 may comprisemultiple discrete transmission fields associated with the transmitters101, where the transmission field may or may not overlap, but may bemanaged discretely by transmitter processors. Additionally oralternatively, the system 100 may comprise transmission fields that mayor may not overlap, but may be managed by the transmitter processors asa unitary transmission field.

ii. Communications Component of a Transmitter

Communications components 111 may effectuate wired and/or wirelesscommunications to and from receivers 103 of the system 100. In somecases, a communications component 111 may be an embedded component of atransmitter 101; and, in some cases, the communications component 111may be attached to the transmitter 101 through any wired or wirelesscommunications medium. In some embodiments, the communications component111 may be shared among a plurality of transmitters 101, such that eachof the transmitters 101 coupled to the communications component 111 mayuse the data received within a communications signal 131, by thecommunications component 111.

The communications component 111 may comprise electromechanicalcomponents (e.g., processor, antenna) that allow the communicationscomponent 111 to communicate various types of data with one or morereceivers 103, other transmitters 101 of the system 100, and/or othercomponents of the transmitter 101. In some implementations, thesecommunications signals 131 may represent a distinct channel for hostingcommunications, independent from the power waves 135 and/or the sensorwaves 133. The data may be communicated using communications signals131, based on predetermined wired or wireless protocols and associatedhardware and software technology. The communications component 111 mayoperate based on any number of communication protocols, such asBluetooth®, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Near-Field Communications (NFC),ZigBee, and others. However, it should be appreciated that thecommunications component 111 is not limited to radio-frequency basedtechnologies, but may include radar, infrared, and sound devices forsonic triangulation of the receiver 103.

The data contained within the communications signals 131 may be used bythe wireless-charging devices 101, 103 to determine how the transmitter101 may transmit safe and effective power waves 135 that generate apocket of energy 137, from which the receiver 103 may capture energy andconvert it to useable alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC)electricity. Using a communications signal 135, the transmitter 101 maycommunicate data that may be used, e.g., to identify receivers 103within a transmission field, determine whether electronic devices 121 orusers are authorized to receive wireless charging services from thesystem 100, determine safe and effective waveform characteristics forpower waves 135, and hone the placement of pockets of energy 137, amongother possible functions. Similarly, a communications component (notshown) of a receiver 103 may use a communications signal 135 tocommunicate data that may be used to, e.g., alert transmitters 101 thatthe receiver 103 has entered or is about to enter a transmission field,provide information about the user or the electronic device 121 beingcharged by the receiver 103, indicate the effectiveness of the powerwaves 135, and provide updated transmission parameters that thetransmitters 101 may use to adjust the power waves 135, as well as othertypes of useful data. As an example, the communications component 111 ofthe transmitter 101 may communicate (i.e., send and receive) differenttypes of data (e.g., authentication data, heat-mapping data,transmission parameters) containing various types of information.Non-limiting examples of the information may include a beacon message, atransmitter identifier (TX ID), a device identifier (device ID) for anelectronic device 121, a user identifier (user ID), the battery levelfor the device 121, the receiver's 103 location in the transmissionfield, the device's 121 location in the transmission field, and othersuch information.

iii. Transmitter Sensors

Sensors 113 may be physically associated with transmitters 101 (i.e.,connected to, or a component of), or devices may be configured to detectand identify various conditions of the system 100 and/or transmissionfield, and sensor data may then be generated for the transmitter 101,which may contribute to the generation and transmission of power waves135 by the transmitters 101. The sensor data may help the transmitters101 determine various modes of operation and/or how to appropriatelygenerate and transmit power waves 135, so that the transmitters 101 mayprovide safe, reliable, and efficient wireless power to receivers 103.As detailed herein, sensors 113 may transmit sensor data collectedduring sensor operations for subsequent processing by a transmitterprocessor of a transmitter 101. Additionally or alternatively, one ormore sensor processors may be connected to or housed within the sensors113. Sensor processors may comprise a microprocessor that executesvarious primary data processing routines, whereby the sensor datareceived at the transmitter processor has been partially or completelypre-processed as useable mapping data for generating power waves 135.

Sensors 113 transmit sensor data to the transmitter 101. Althoughdescribed in the exemplary embodiment as raw sensor data, it is intendedthat the sensor data is not limited to raw sensor data and can includedata that is processed by a processor associated with the sensor,processed by the receiver, processed by the transmitter, or any otherprocessor. The sensor data can include information derived from thesensor, and processed sensor data can include determinations based uponthe sensor data. For example, a gyroscope of a receiver may provide rawdata such as an orientation in X-plane, Y-plane, and Z planes, andprocessed sensor data from the gyroscope may include a determination ofthe location of the receiver or a location of a receiver antenna basedupon the orientation of the receiver. In another example, raw sensordata from an infrared sensor of a receiver may provide thermal imaginginformation, and processed sensor data may include an identification ofthe person 141 a based upon the thermal imaging information. As usedherein, any reference to sensor data or raw sensor data can include dataprocessed at the sensor or other device. In some implementations, agyroscope and/or an accelerometer of the receiver 103 or electronicdevice associated with the receiver 103 may provide sensor dataindicating the orientation of the receiver 103 or electronic device 121,which the transmitter 101 may use to determine whether to transmit powerwaves 135 to the receiver 103. For example, the receiver 103 may beembedded or attached to an electronic device 121 (e.g., smartphone,tablet, laptop) comprising a gyroscope and/or an accelerometer thatgenerates sensor data indicating the orientation of the electronicdevice 121. The receiver 103 may then transmit this sensor data to thetransmitter 101, via communications waves 131. In such implementations,the transmitter 101 may transmit power waves 135 to the location of thereceiver 103 until the transmitter 101 receives, via communicationswaves 131, the sensor data produced by the gyroscope and/oraccelerometer, indicating that the receiver 103 or electronic device isin motion or has an orientation suggesting that the electronic device121 is in use or nearby a person 141 a. As an example, a receiver 103may be attached to or embedded within a smartphone comprising agyroscope and an accelerometer. In this example, while the smartphone isflat on a table 141 b for a time, the transmitter 101 may transmit powerwaves 135 to the smartphone. But when the person 141 a lifts thesmartphone to his or her head, the accelerometer then generates sensordata indicating that the smartphone is in motion and the gyroscopegenerates sensor data indicating that the smartphone has aplanar-orientation indicating that the smartphone is against theperson's 141 a ear. The transmitter 101 may then determine from thissensor data produced by the gyroscope and accelerometer that thesmartphone is against the person's 141 a head, and thus the transmitter101 ceases the power waves 131 transmitted to the receiver 103associated with the smartphone. The transmitter 101 may make thisdetermination according to any number of preset threshold valuesregarding data produced by gyroscopes and/or accelerometers.

Sensors 113 may be devices configured to emit sensor waves 133, whichmay be any type of wave that may be used to identify sensitive objects141, 143 in a transmission field (e.g., a person 141, a piece offurniture 143). Non-limiting examples of sensor technologies for thesensors 113 may include: infrared/pyro-electric, ultrasonic, laser,optical, Doppler, accelerometer, microwave, millimeter, and RFstanding-wave sensors. Other sensor technologies that may be well-suitedto secondary and/or proximity-detection sensors may include resonant LCsensors, capacitive sensors, and inductive sensors. Based upon theparticular type of sensor waves 133 used and the particular protocolsassociated with the sensor waves 133, a sensor 113 may generate sensordata. In some cases, the sensor 113 may comprise a sensor processor thatmay receive, interpret, and process sensor data, which the sensor 113may then provide to a transmitter processor.

Sensors 113 may be passive sensors, active sensors, and/or smartsensors. Passive sensors, such as tuned LC sensors (resonant,capacitive, or inductive) are a simple type of sensor 113 and mayprovide minimal but efficient object discrimination. Such passivesensors may be used as secondary (remote) sensors that may be dispersedinto the transmission field and may be part of a receiver 103 orotherwise independently capture raw sensor data that may be wirelesslycommunicated a sensor processor. Active sensors, such as infrared (IR)or pyro-electric sensors, may provide efficient and effective targetdiscrimination and may have minimal processing associated with thesensor data produced by such active sensors. Smart sensors may besensors 113 having on-board digital signal processing (DSP) for primarysensor data (i.e., prior to processing by the transmitter processor).Such processors are capable of fine, granular object discrimination andprovide transmitter processors with pre-processed sensor data that ismore efficiently handled by the transmitter processor when determininghow to generate and transmit the power waves 135.

Sensors 113 may have the capability to operate and generate differenttypes of sensor data and may generate location-related information invarious formats. Active and smart sensors may be categorized by sensortype, characteristic hardware and software requirements, andcapabilities for distance calculation and motion detection, as seen inthe following Table 1:

TABLE 1 Active and Smart Sensor Attributes Active and Smart SensorAttributes Hardware Software Distance Motion Sensor Type RequirementsRequirements Calculation Detection One dimensional Simple circuitsMinimal Rough None Smart one dimensional Simple circuits Limited GoodNone Two dimensional (2D) Simple circuits Limited Good Possible Smarttwo dimensional Complex circuits Moderate Good Possible Threedimensional Complex circuits Intensive Good Good (3D) Smart three DSP(primary Intensive Precise Excellent dimensional processing)

In some implementations, sensors 113 may be configured for humanrecognition, and thus may discriminate a person 141 a from otherobjects, such as furniture 141 b. Non-limiting examples of sensor dataprocessed by human recognition-enabled sensors 113 may include: bodytemperature data, infrared range-finder data, motion data, activityrecognition data, silhouette detection and recognition data, gesturedata, heart rate data, portable devices data, and wearable device data(e.g., biometric readings and output, accelerometer data).

In an embodiment, control systems of transmitters 101 adhere toelectromagnetic field (EMF) exposure protection standards for humansubjects. Maximum exposure limits are defined by US and Europeanstandards in terms of power density limits and electric field limits (aswell as magnetic field limits). These include, for example, limitsestablished by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for MPE, andlimits established by European regulators for radiation exposure. Limitsestablished by the FCC for MPE are codified at 47 CFR §1.1310. Forelectromagnetic field (EMF) frequencies in the microwave range, powerdensity can be used to express an intensity of exposure. Power densityis defined as power per unit area. For example, power density can becommonly expressed in terms of watts per square meter (W/m2), milliwattsper square centimeter (mW/cm2), or microwatts per square centimeter(μW/cm2).

In an embodiment, the present methods for wireless power transmissionincorporate various safety techniques to ensure that human occupants 141a in or near a transmission field are not exposed to EMF energy near orabove regulatory limits or other nominal limits. One safety method is toinclude a margin of error (e.g., about 10% to 20%) beyond the nominallimits, so that human subjects are not exposed to power levels at ornear the EMF exposure limits. A second safety method can provide stagedprotection measures, such as reduction or termination of wireless powertransmission if humans 141 a (and in some embodiments, other livingbeings or sensitive objects) move toward a pocket of energy 137 withpower density levels exceeding EMF exposure limits. A further safetymethod is redundant safety systems, such as use of power reductionmethods together with alarms 119.

In operation, sensors 113 may detect whether objects, such as person 141or furniture 143, enter a predetermined proximity of a transmitter 101,power waves 135, and/or a pocket of energy 137. In one configuration,the sensor 113 may then instruct the transmitter 101 or other componentsof the system 100 to execute various actions based upon the detectedobjects. In another configuration, the sensor 113 may transmit sensordata to the transmitter 101, and the transmitter 101 may determine whichactions to execute (e.g., adjust a pocket of energy, cease power wavetransmission, reduce power wave transmission). For example, after asensor 113 identifies that a person 141 has entered the transmissionfield, and then determines that the person 141 is within thepredetermined proximity of the transmitter 101, the sensor could providethe relevant sensor data to the transmitter 101, causing the transmitter101 to reduce or terminate transmission of the power waves 135. Asanother example, after identifying the person 141 entering thetransmission field and then determining that the person 141 has comewithin the predetermined proximity of a pocket of energy 137, the sensor113 may provide sensor data to the transmitter 101 that causes thetransmitter 101 to adjust the characteristics of the power waves 135, todiminish the amount of energy concentrated at the pockets of energy 137,generate a null, and/or reposition the location of the pocket energy137. In another example, the system 100 may comprise an alarm device119, which may produce a warning, and/or may generate and transmit adigital message to a system log or administrative computing deviceconfigured to administer the system 100. In this example, after thesensor 113 detects the person 141 entering the predetermined proximityof a transmitter 101, power wave 135, and/or pocket of energy 137, orotherwise detects other unsafe or prohibited conditions of system 100,the sensor data may be generated and transmitted to the alarm device119, which may activate the warning, and/or generate and transmit anotification to the administrator device. A warning produced by thealarm 119 may comprise any type of sensory feedback, such as audiofeedback, visual feedback, haptic feedback, or some combination.

In some embodiments, such as the exemplary system 100, a sensor 113 maybe a component of a transmitter 101, housed within the transmitter 101.In some embodiments, a sensor 113 may be external to the transmitter 101and may communicate, over a wired or wireless connection, sensor data toone or more transmitters 101. A sensor 113, which may be external to oneor more transmitters 101 or part of a single transmitter 101, mayprovide sensor data to the one or more transmitters 101, and theprocessors of the transmitters 101 may then share this sensor data todetermine the appropriate formulation and transmission of power waves135. Similarly, in some embodiments, multiple sensors 113 may sharesensor data with multiple transmitters 101. In such embodiments, sensors113 or host transmitters 101 may send and receive sensor data with othersensors 113 or host transmitters in the system 100. Additionally oralternatively, the sensors 113 or the host transmitters 101 may transmitor retrieve sensor data, to or from one or more mapping memories 117.

As an example, as seen in the exemplary system 100 of FIG. 1, a firsttransmitter 101 a may comprise a first sensor 113 a that emits sensorwaves 133 a and generates sensor data, which may be stored on the firsttransmitter 101 a and/or a mapping memory 117; the system 100 may alsohave a second transmitter 101 b comprising a second sensor 113 a thatemits sensor waves 113 b and generates sensor data, which may be storedon the second transmitter 101 b and/or the mapping memory 117 of thesystem 100. In this example, both of the transmitters 101 a, 101 b maycomprise processors that may receive sensor data from the sensors 113 a,113 b, and/or fetch stored sensor data from the particular storagelocations; thus, the sensor data produced by the respective sensors 113a, 113 b may be shared among the respective transmitters 101 a, 101 b.The processors of each of the transmitters 101 a, 101 b may then use theshared sensor data, to then determine the characteristics for generatingand transmitting power waves 133 a, 133 b, which may include determiningwhether to transmit power waves 133 a, 133 b when a sensitive object141, 143 is detected.

As mentioned, a transmitter 101 may comprise, or otherwise be associatedwith, multiple sensors 113 from which the transmitter 101 receivessensor data. As an example, a single transmitter 101 may comprise afirst sensor located at a first position of the transmitter 101 and asecond sensor located at a second position on the transmitter 101. Inthis example, the sensors 113 may be binary sensors that may acquirestereoscopic sensor data, such as the location of a sensitive object 141to the sensors 113. In some embodiments, such binary or stereoscopicsensors may be configured to provide three-dimensional imagingcapabilities, which may be transmitted to an administrator's workstationand/or other computing device. In addition, binary and stereoscopicsensors may improve the accuracy of receiver 103 or object 141 locationdetection and displacement, which is useful, for example, in motionrecognition and tracking

To enable transmitter 101, to detect and confirm objects 141 that theuser wishes to exclude from receipt of wireless energy (i.e., powerwaves 135, pockets of energy 137), the user may communicate totransmitter 101 tagging information to be recorded in a mapping memoryof transmitter 101. For example, the user may provide tagginginformation via a user device 123 in communication with the controllerof transmitter 101 via a graphical user interface (GUI) of the userdevice 123. Exemplary tagging information includes location data for anelectrical device 121, which may include one-dimensional coordinates ofa region in space containing the object 141, two-dimensional (2D)coordinates of a region in space containing the object 141, orthree-dimensional (3D) coordinates of a region in space containing theobject 141.

In some embodiments, tags may be assigned to particular objects 141and/or locations within a transmission field. During a tagging process,tagging data may be generated and stored into a mapping database, andmay inform the transmitter 101 about how the transmitter 101 shouldbehave with regards to specific objects 141 or locations in thetransmission field. Tagging data generated during a tagging process mayinform transmitters 101 whether to transmit power waves to an object 141or location, and/or where within a transmission field to transmit powerwaves 135 or generate pockets of energy 137. For example, a record for alocation in the mapping database may be updated or generated withtagging data instructing the transmitter 101 to never transmit powerwaves 137 to the particular location. Likewise, in another example,tagging data may be populated into a record for a location, instructingthe transmitter 101 to always transmit power waves 137 to that location.In other words, in some implementations, the process of tagging may beas simple as pre-populating tagging data into the mapping database, viaa user interface of some kind Although tags may be generated by merelyinputting the tagging data into the mapping database of the transmitter101, in some cases, the tagging data may be automatically generated by asensor processor, transmitter processor, or other computing device, whenthe mapping database or other device receives a tagging indicator from awireless tagging device 123, such as a smartphone or other mobiledevice. For example, say a user wants to prohibit power waves 137 frombeing transmitted to a table 141 in a child's playroom because the childhas a habit of hiding under the table 141 b. The user in this examplemay interact with a graphical interface on their smartphone 123 togenerate and transmit tagging data containing the coordinates of thetable 141 b to the transmitter's 101 mapping database. In some cases,the user may place their mobile tagging device 123 next to the table 141b or outline coordinates of the table 141 b, and then press an indicatorbutton on the user interface, to transmit the relevant location data tothe transmitter 101 or mapping database. If necessary, the transmitter101 or mapping database may then convert the location data into useablecoordinates of the transmission field. The generated transmission fieldcoordinates may then be stored into the mapping database and referencedlater when the transmitter 101 is determining where to generate a pocketof energy 137.

In some implementations, sensors 113 may detect sensitive objects 141within a transmission field that have been predetermined or “tagged” asbeing sensitive. In some cases, it may be desirable to avoid particularobstacles in the transmission field, such as furniture 141 b or walls,regardless of whether a sensor 113 has identified a person 141 a orother sensitive object 141, entering within proximity to the particularobstacle. As such, an internal or external mapping memory 117 may storemapping data and/or sensor identifying the particular location of theparticular obstacle, thereby effectively “tagging” the location of theparticular location as being off-limits to power waves 135. Additionallyor alternatively, the particular object may be digitally or physicallyassociated with a digital or physical tag that produces a signal orphysical manifestation (e.g. heat-signature) detectable by the sensor113, communications components 111, or other component of thetransmitter 101. For example, as part of generating sensor data for thetransmitter 101, the sensor 113 may access an internal mapping memory(i.e., internal to the transmitter 101 housing the sensor 113) thatstores records of tagged obstacles to avoid, such as a table 141 b. Inthis example, the sensor 113 would detect the table 141 b as a taggedobstacle, and generate sensor data 113 that causes the transmitters 101to reduce the amount of energy provided by the power waves 135 wheretable 141 b is located, terminate the power waves 135 being sent to thetable 141 b, or redirect the power waves 135.

Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, sensors 113 maydetect electrical devices 121 that have been tagged (i.e., previouslyrecorded in an internal mapping memory or external mapping memory 117 orreceived a digital or physical tag detectable by the sensors 113) toreceive wireless power waves 137. Under these circumstances, afterdetecting a tag or tagged object, or otherwise determining that a tag ortagged object should receive wireless energy, a sensor 113 may generatesensor data that causes a transmitter 101 to transmit power waves 135 tothe tagged object to form a pocket of energy 137 at the location of theidentified tag or tagged object.

iv. Antenna Array, Antenna Elements, and Antennas

Transmitters 101 may comprise an antenna array 115, which may be a setof one or more antennas configured to transmit one or more types ofwaves 131, 133, 135. In some embodiments, an antenna array 115 maycomprise antenna elements, which may be configurable “tiles” comprisingan antenna, and zero or more integrated circuits controlling thebehavior of the antenna in that element, such as generating power waves135 having predetermined characteristics (e.g., amplitude, frequency,trajectory, phase). An antenna of the antenna array 115 may transmit aseries of power waves 135 having the predetermined characteristics, suchthat the series of power waves 135 arrive at a given location within atransmission field, and exhibit those characteristics. Taken together,the antennas of the antenna array 115 may transmit power waves 135 thatintersect at the given location (usually where a receiver 103 isdetected), and due to their respective characteristics, form a pocket ofenergy 137, from which the receiver 103 may collect energy and generateelectricity. It should be appreciated that, although the exemplarysystem 100 describes radio-frequency based power waves 135, additionalor alternative transmitter antennas, antenna arrays, and/or wave-basedtechnologies may be used (e.g., ultrasonic, infrared, magneticresonance) to wirelessly transmit power from the transmitter 101 to thereceiver 103.

A transmitter 101 may use mapping data to determine where and how anantenna array 115 should transmit power waves 135. The mapping data mayindicate for the transmitter 101 where power waves 135 should betransmitted and the pockets of energy 137 should be formed, and, in somecases, where the power waves 135 should not be transmitted. The mappingdata may be captured, queried, and interpreted by processors associatedwith the transmitter 101, from which the transmitter 101 may determinehow the antennas of the antenna array 115 should form and transmit thepower waves 135. When determining how the power waves should be formed,the transmitter 101 determines the characteristics for each of the powerwaves 135 to be transmitted from each of the respective antennas of theantenna array 115. Non-limiting examples of characteristics for thepower waves 135 may include: amplitude, phase, gain, frequency, anddirection, among others. As an example, to generate a pocket of energy137 at a particular location, the transmitter 101 identifies a subset ofantennas from the antenna array, 115 transmits power waves 135 to thepredetermined location, and then the transmitter 101 generates the powerwaves 135. The power waves 135 transmitted from each antenna of thesubset have a comparatively different, e.g., phase and amplitude. Inthis example, a waveform-generating integrated circuit (not shown) ofthe transmitter 101 can form a phased array of delayed versions of thepower waves 137, apply different amplitudes to the delayed versions ofthe power waves 137, and then transmit the power waves 137 fromappropriate antennas. For a sinusoidal waveform, such as an RF signal,ultrasound, microwave, and others, delaying the power waves 137 iseffectively similar to applying a phase shift to power waves 135. Insome cases, one or more transmitter processors (not shown) control theformation and transmission of power waves 135 broadcast by thetransmitter 101 through the antenna array 115.

Antenna arrays 115 may comprise one or more integrated circuits that areassociated with the antennas to generate the power waves 135. In someembodiments, integrated circuits are found on antenna elements thathouse an integrated circuit and antenna associated with the integratedcircuit. An integrated circuit may function as a waveform generator foran antenna associated with the integrated circuit, providing theappropriate circuitry and instructions to the associated antenna so thatthe antenna may formulate and transmit the power waves 135 in accordancewith the predetermined characteristics identified for the power waves135. The integrated circuits may receive instructions from amicroprocessor (e.g., transmitter processor) that determines how thepower waves 135 should be emitted into the transmitter's 101transmission field. The transmitter processor, for example, maydetermine where to form a pocket of energy 137 based on mapping data andthen may instruct the integrated circuits of the antenna array 115 togenerate power waves 135 with a set of waveform characteristics. Theintegrated circuits may then formulate the power waves 135 and instructtheir respectively associated antennas to transmit the power waves 135into the transmission field accordingly.

As mentioned, the mapping data may be based upon heat-map data collectedby the communications component 111 and generated by a transmitterprocessor, and/or sensor data collected by a sensor 113 and generated bya sensor processor. The heat-map data may contain data useful foridentifying receivers 103 within the transmission field and theirlocation within the transmission field relative to the transmitter 101.For example, the heat-map data may include data representative of alocation of a receiver in a communication signal that the transmitterreceives from the receiver identifying the location where the receiverdetected a low power wave from the transmitter 101, and/or identifyingwhether or not the power level of the low power wave detected by thereceiver exceeded a particular threshold. The sensor data may containdata useful for identifying sensitive objects 141, 143, which areobjects found at locations within the transmission field where powerwaves 135 should exhibit minimal energy or should not be transmitted atall. In other words, the mapping data may represent input parametersused by the transmitter 101 to determine the characteristics with whichto generate and transmit the power waves 135. As the mapping data (i.e.,heat-map data and/or sensor data) is updated and queried by thetransmitter 101, the transmitter 101 may adjust how the antenna array115 is producing and transmitting the power waves 135 to account forchanges of the environment within the transmission field, such asreceiver 103 or people 141 movements.

In some cases, a transmitter 101 may split the antenna array 115 intogroups of antennas, such that the constituent antennas perform differenttasks. For example, in an antenna array 115 comprising ten antennas,nine antennas may transmit power waves 135 that form a pocket of energy137 at a receiver 103, and a tenth antenna may operate in conjunctionwith the communications component 111 to identify new receivers (notshown) in the transmission field, by continuously and sequentiallytransmitting low levels of energy to discrete locations within thetransmission field, which a new receiver may capture along with acommunications signal 131 to then determine the new receiver's locationrelative to the transmitter 101 within the transmission field. Inanother example, the antenna array 115 having ten antennas may be splitinto two groups of five, each of which may transmit power waves 135 totwo different receivers 103 in the transmission field.

v. Mapping Memory

Transmitters 101 may be associated with one or more mapping-memories,which may be non-transitory machine-readable storage media configured tostore mapping data, which may be data describing aspects of transmissionfields associated with the transmitters 101. Mapping data may compriseheat-map data and sensor data. The heat-map data may be generated bytransmitter processors to identify receivers 103 located in atransmission field; and the sensor data may be generated by transmitterprocessors and/or sensor processors to identify sensitive objects 141,143 located in the transmission field. Thus, mapping data stored in amapping memory of the system 100 may include information indicating thelocation of receivers 103, the location of sensitive objects 141, 143,transmission parameters for power waves 135, and other types of data,which can be used by the transmitters 101 to generate and transmit safeand effective power waves 135 (e.g., location of tagged objects,tracking parameters). Transmitters 101 may query the mapping data storedin the records of a mapping memory, or the records may be “pushed” tothe transmitters 101 in real-time, so that the transmitters 101 may usethe mapping data as input parameters for determining the characteristicsfor transmitting the power waves 135 and where to generate pockets ofenergy 137. In some implementations, transmitters 101 may update themapping data of a mapping memory as new, up-to-date mapping data isreceived, from the processors governing the communications components111 or sensors 113.

In some embodiments, a wireless-charging system 100 may comprise anexternal mapping memory 117, which may be a database or a collection ofmachine-readable computer files, hosted by non-transitorymachine-readable storage media of one or more server computers. In suchembodiments, the external mapping memory 117 may be communicativelycoupled to one or more transmitters 101 by any wired or wirelesscommunications protocols and hardware. The external mapping memory 117may contain mapping data for one or more transmission fields that areassociated with one or more transmitters 101 of the system 100. Therecords of the external mapping memory 117 may be accessed by eachtransmitter 101, which may update the mapping data when scanning atransmission field for receivers 103 or sensitive objects 141, 143,and/or query the mapping data when determining safe and effectivecharacteristics for the power waves 135 that the transmitter 101 isgoing to generate.

In some embodiments, a transmitter 101 may comprise non-transitorymachine-readable storage media configured to host an internal mappingmemory, which may store the mapping data within the transmitter 101. Aprocessor of the transmitter 101, such as a transmitter processor or asensor processor, may update the records of the internal mapping memoryas new mapping data is identified and stored. In some embodiments, themapping data stored in the internal mapping memory may be transmitted toadditional transmitters 101 of the system 100, and/or the mapping datain the internal mapping memory may be transmitted and stored into anexternal mapping memory 117 at a regular interval or in real-time.

B. Receivers

Receivers 103 may be used for powering or charging an associatedelectronic device 121, which may be an electrical device 121 coupled toor integrated with one or more receivers 103. A receiver 103 maycomprise one or more antennas (not shown) that may receive power waves135 from one or more power waves 135 originating from one or moretransmitters 101. The receiver 103 may receive one or more power waves135 produced by and transmitted directly from the transmitter 101, orthe receiver 103 may harvest power waves 135 from one or more pockets ofenergy 137, which may be a three-dimensional field in space resultingfrom the convergence of a plurality of power waves 135 produced by oneor more transmitters 101.

In some embodiments, the receiver 103 may comprise an array of antennasconfigured to receive power waves 135 from a power transmission wave.Receiver 103 antennas may harvest energy from one or more power waves135 or from a pocket of energy 137, which may be formed from theresulting accumulation of power waves 135 at a particular locationwithin a transmission field. After the power waves 135 are receivedand/or energy is gathered from a pocket of energy 137, circuitry (e.g.,integrated circuits, amplifiers, rectifiers, voltage conditioner) of thereceiver 103 may then convert the energy of the power waves 135 (e.g.,radio frequency electromagnetic radiation) to electrical energy (i.e.,electricity), which may be stored into a battery (not shown) or used byan electronic device 121. In some cases, for example, a rectifier of thereceiver 103 may translate the electrical energy from AC to DC form,usable by the electronic device 121. Other types of conditioning may beapplied as well, in addition or as an alternative to conversion from ACto DC. For example, a voltage conditioning circuit may increase ordecrease the voltage of the electrical energy as required by theelectronic device 121. An electrical relay may then convey theelectrical energy from the receiver 103 to the electronic device 121.

A receiver 103 or an electronic device 121 may comprise a receiver-sidecommunications component (not shown), which may communicate varioustypes of data with the transmitter 101 in real-time or near real-time,through a communications signal generated by the receiver'scommunications component. The data may include mapping data, such asheat-map data, and device status data, such as status information forthe receiver 103, status information for the electronic device 121,status information for the power waves 135, and/or status informationfor the pockets of energy 137. In other words, the receiver 103 mayprovide information to the transmitter 101 regarding the presentlocation data of the device 121, the amount of charge received by thereceiver 103, the amount of charge used by the electronic device 121,and certain user account information, among other types of information.

As mentioned, in some implementations, the receiver 103 may beintegrated into the electronic device 103, such that for all practicalpurposes, the receiver 103 and electronic device 121 would be understoodto be a single unit or product, whereas in some embodiments, thereceiver 103 may be coupled to the electronic device 121 afterproduction. It should be appreciated that the receiver 103 may beconfigured to use the communications component of the electronic device121 and/or comprise a communications component of its own. As anexample, the receiver 103 might be an attachable but distinct unit orproduct that may be connected to an electronic device 121, to providewireless-power charging benefits to the electronic device 121. In thisexample, the receiver 103 may comprise its own communications componentto communicate data with transmitters 101. Additionally oralternatively, in some embodiments, the receiver 103 may utilize orotherwise operate with the communications component of the electronicdevice 121. For example, the receiver 103 may be integrated into alaptop computer 121 during manufacturing of the laptop 121 or at somelater time. In this example, the receiver 103 may use the laptop'scommunication component (e.g., Bluetooth®-based communicationscomponent) to communicate data with transmitters 101.

C. Electronic Devices & Tagging Information for Devices and Objects

An electronic device 121 coupled to a receiver 103 may be any electricaldevice 121 that requires continuous electrical energy or that requirespower from a battery. The receiver 103 may be permanently integratedinto the electronic device 121, or the receiver 103 may be detachablycoupled to the electronic device 121, which, in some cases, may resultin a single integrated product or unit. As an example, the electronicdevice 121 may be placed into a protective sleeve comprising embeddedreceivers 103 that are detachably coupled to the device's 121 powersupply input. Non-limiting examples of electronic devices 121 mayinclude laptops, mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, music players,toys, batteries, flashlights, lamps, electronic watches, cameras, gamingconsoles, appliances, GPS devices, and wearable devices or so-called“wearables” (e.g., fitness bracelets, pedometers, smart watch), amongother types of electrical devices 121.

Electronic devices 121 may comprise embedded or associated proximitysensors, accelerometers, compasses, gyroscopes and/or ambient lightsensors, which may act as a secondary data source for transmitter 101 tosupplement sensor data, heat-map data, and/or mapping data, as generatedby the sensors 113 physically associated with transmitter 101.

In some cases, neither an electronic device 121 nor an associatedreceiver 103, are associated with a communications component capable ofcommunicating with a transmitter 101. For example, the electronic device121 might be a smaller household electrical device 121, such as a clockor smoke alarms, which might not include a communications component thattransmits communications signals to the transmitter 101, and thereforethe electrical device 121 and the receiver 103 attached to theelectrical device 121 would not be able to exchange the data needed toguide the transmitter's 101 production of power waves 135.

To enable the transmitter 101 to locate and identify such an electricaldevice 121, a user may communicate to the transmitter 101 “tagging”data, which may be recorded into an internal or external mapping memory117. For example, the user may provide tagging information via a userdevice (e.g., laptop 121, smartphone, administrative computer or server)that is in communication with the transmitter 101 or external mappingmemory 117. The user device may execute an administrative softwareapplication that permits the user, via a graphical user interface (GUI),to generate tagging information. The tagging information may then bestored as mapping data (e.g., sensor data, heat-map data) into one ormore mapping memories 117 of the system 100 for retrieval by one or moreprocessors (e.g., transmitter processor, sensor processor, user deviceprocessor) of the system 100. Exemplary tagging information includeslocation data for an electrical device 121, level of power usage ofelectrical device 121, duration of power usage of electrical device 121,power transfer schedule of electrical device 121, and authenticationcredentials of the electrical device 121.

Additionally or alternatively, tagging information for electricaldevices 121 may be automatically identified and generated by sensors 113and/or communications components when scanning the transmission field toidentify electrical devices 121 and/or sensitive objects 141. As anexample, scanning with sensors 113 may dynamically maintain an internalmapping memory of a transmitter 101, which may update tagginginformation provided manually to the mapping memory 117 by a userdevice. In an embodiment, the transmission field of wireless powersystem 100 is scanned periodically to detect sensor 113 responsesindicating updated tagging information for electrical devices 121 and/orsensitive objects 141, using one or more of pyro-electric sensors,ultrasound sensors, millimeter sensors, and power sensors. In operation,after one or more sensors 113 or communications components 111identifies the electrical device 101 and then outputs the sensor data tothe transmitter processor, the transmitter processor may compare thecaptured sensor data with tagging information stored in the mappingmemory 117 of the system 100. Based on this comparison, the transmitterprocessor may determine whether the transmitter 101 should transmitpower waves 135 to electrical device 121, or whether the transmitterprocessor should avoid transmitting power waves 135 to the electricaldevice 121.

In some embodiments, a system 100 may comprise an administrative device123 that may function as an interface for an administrator to setconfiguration settings or provide operational instructions to variouscomponents of the system 100. The administrative device 123 may be anydevice comprising a communications component capable of wired orwireless communication with components of the system 100 and amicroprocessor configured to transmit certain types of data tocomponents of the system 100. Non-limiting examples of an administrativedevice 123 may include a guidance device (e.g., radio guidance device,infrared guidance device, laser guidance device), a computing device, asmartphone, a tablet, or other device capable of providing instructionaland operational data to components of the system 100.

In some embodiments, the administrative device 123 may be a guidancedevice that may comprise a processor configured to execute variousroutines for “tagging” an electronic device 121, based upon the type oftechnology employed. As mentioned herein, tagging receivers 103 andother objects 141 within a transmission field may indicate to componentsof the system 100 that those components should or should not executecertain routines. As an example, the administrative device 123 may be alaser guidance device that transmits tagging data to a transmittercommunication component 111, sensor 113, mapping memory 117, or otherdevice of the system 100 that is configured to receive and process thelaser guidance-based tagging data. In this example, the tagging data maybe generated whenever a user interacts with an interface input, such asa push button or graphical user interface (GUI), and a laser “tags” thedesired object. In some cases, the resulting tagging data is immediatelytransmitted to the transmitter 101 or other device for storage intomapping data. In some cases, a sensor 101 having laser-sensitivetechnology may identify and detect the laser-based tag. Althoughadditional and alternative means of tagging objects and devices aredescribed herein, one having ordinary skill in the art would appreciatethat there are any number of guidance technologies that may be employedto “tag” an object and generate or detect tagging data.

In some embodiments, the administrative device 123 executes a softwareapplication associated with the wireless charging system 100, where thesoftware application comprises software modules for generating andtransmitting tagging data to components of the system 100. The taggingdata generated by the software application may contain informationuseful for identifying objects or the locations of objects. That is, thetagging data may be used to instruct a sensor 113 that, when aparticular sensory signature (e.g., infrared) is detected, the sensor113 should generate certain sensor data, which would eventually informhow the transmitters 101 would generate and transmit the power waves135.

In some implementations, the administrative device 123 may be a servercomputer or other workstation computer that is coupled to thetransmitter processors. In such implementations, an administrator mayprovide tagging data directly to an external mapping memory 117, whichmay be stored until need by the transmitters 101. Although FIG. 1 showsthe administrative device 123 as being a distinct device from theelectronic device 121 being charged by the transmitters 101 andreceivers 103, it should be appreciated that they may be the samedevices and may function similarly. In other words, the electronicdevice 121 may function as an administrative device 123; and/or theadministrative device 123 may receive wireless charging services throughassociated receivers 103, embedded or coupled to the administrativedevice 123.

II. Determining Receiver Locations & Heat-Map Data

Transmitters of the wireless charging system may determine the locationof receivers in a transmission field covered by the transmitters.Transmitters may be associated with a mapping memory allowing thetransmitters to track the motion of receivers, as the receivers movethrough a transmission field.

A. Exemplary Methods for Heat-Mapping

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary method 200 for one or more transmitters (TXs)of a wireless charging system to locate receivers within a transmissionfield, so that the transmitters may transmit power waves to the receiverdevices. The method 200 describes actions executed by components of asingle transmitter, though it should be appreciated that at least somethe actions may be executed by additional or alternative components ofthe wireless power transmission system, such as other transmitters,microprocessors, computing devices, or other device capable of receivingand issuing instructions associated with transmitters. Moreover, itshould be appreciated that the actions of the exemplary method 200 maybe executed by any number of transmitters or microprocessors,simultaneously, or at individualized intervals that are particular toeach device.

In a first step 201, a transmitter (TX) may continuously transmit powerwaves and a communication signal into a transmission field of thetransmitter. The power waves may be any type of wave having any set ofcharacteristics that may provide power to devices located at a givenlocation within the transmission field. Non-limiting examples of powerwaves may include ultrasonic waves, microwaves, infrared waves, andradio-frequency waves. The power waves may be transmitted with a certainset of physical characteristics (e.g., frequency, phase, energy level,amplitude, distance, direction) that result in the power waves providingelevated energy levels at the given location in the transmission field.In this step 201, the transmitter may transmit so-called exploratorypower waves, which are power waves having a power level comparativelylower than the power level ordinarily used to for power waves providingpower to a receiver. Exploratory power waves may be used to identifyreceivers, and/or used to determine the appropriate characteristics forthe power waves that will ultimately provide power to the receivers inthe transmission field.

The communication signal may be any type of wave used by electricaldevices to communicate data through associated protocols. Non-limitingexamples may include Bluetooth®, NFC, Wi-Fi, ZigBee®, and the like. Thecommunications signal may be used to communicate parameters used by thetransmitter to properly formulate power waves. In this first step 201, acommunications signal may contain data describing the characteristics ofthe low-level power waves being transmitted. This data may indicate, forexample, the direction and energy level of the power waves transmittedwith the communication signal. In some implementations, the power wavecharacteristics, as indicated by the data of the communication signal,may be used by receivers and transmitters as parameters for a number ofdeterminations. These parameters may then be updated and exchanged overthe communications signal to update the characteristics of the powerwaves being generated and transmitted.

In a next step 203, one or more antennas of a receiver may receive thepower waves and the communication signal from the transmitter. The powerwaves may have waveform characteristics that give the power waveslow-levels of power. The communication signal may contain dataindicating the characteristics of the power waves. When the transmitterformulates and/or transmits the power waves in a certain direction or toa certain location within the transmission field, a communicationscomponent of the transmitter may generate and transmit data, within thecommunications signal, describing the power waves. For example, thecommunications signal may indicate information about the power waveformation, such as the amplitude, frequency, energy level, thetrajectory of the power waves, and/or the desired location to which thepower waves were transmitted.

In a next step 205, the receiver may respond to the transmitter with anindication of its location (e.g., an explicit communication of locationinformation or a communication indicating receipt of an exploratory lowpower wave transmission in a segment or sub-segment, and/or confirmationthat the power level of said exploratory wave exceeds a particularthreshold) within the transmission field, using the data in thecommunications signal as input parameters. The receiver may comprise aprocessor configured to generate a message for responding to thetransmitter with the indication of its location. The receiver may beintegrated into (e.g., within a smart phone) or coupled to (e.g., asmart phone backpack) an electronic device comprising a processor thatis configured to generate messages indicating the receiver's locationwhen receiving a low power wave transmission. In an alternativeembodiment, a receiver can determine its own location based uponcharacteristics of the received power waves as indicated by the receivedcommunication signal.

In some implementations, after the power waves are received by thereceiver, the receiver must derive its location based upon the waveformcharacteristics of the power waves, as indicated by the communicationssignal. For example, the receiver processor may determine the receiver'slocation using data indicating a target area (i.e., where the powerwaves were transmitted to in the transmission field), the amount oflow-level of the power waves, and the particular trajectory at which thepower waves were transmitted. In this example, the receiver maydetermine its location within the transmission field of the transmitter,by determining the receiver's location in relation to the target areabased on the amount of power actually received, and then determiningwhere the target area is in relation to the transmitter based on thetrajectory of the power waves. It should be appreciated that the abovemeans of determining the receiver's location is merely exemplary; anynumber of additional or alternative calculations, inputs, parameters,and other information, may be communicated between the receiver andtransmitter, and used by the receiver to determine its location within atransmission field.

In a next step 207, after determining the receiver's location within thetransmission field, the receiver may respond to the transmitter withupdated transmission parameters to be utilized by the transmitter forformulating the power waves. The transmitter may generate and transmitthe power waves having certain waveform characteristics that aredetermined by the transmitter according to a set of parameters, whichare predetermined or provided from receivers via the communicationssignal data. In this step 207, the receiver is providing the parametersto the transmitter after the receiver determines where it is located inrelation to the transmitter. In some cases, the receiver may alsoprovide updated parameters for the transmitter to use for generating andtransmitting the power waves.

For example, the receiver may determine the effectiveness of the powerwaves, where the effectiveness may be determined as a ratio(“effectiveness ratio”) of the amount of power being transmitted in thepower waves versus the amount of power actually received by thereceiver. In this example, the effectiveness may be transmitted to thetransmitter using a communications signal (e.g., Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, NFC,ZigBee®), which the transmitter may use as a parameter for determininghow to generate and transmit the power waves. The receiver may alsotransmit updated parameter data indicating its location, as determinedin a previous step 205. As another example, after the receiverdetermines the effectiveness ratio of the power waves and determines itslocation within the transmission field, the receiver may pre-processsome or all of the communication signal data, so that the receivertransmits this data to transmitter and the transmitter to employ indetermine where to place pockets of energy. The receiver may thendetermine and transmit other useful data that the transmitter may use asupdated parameters for determining the waveform characteristics of thepower waves. For example, data may include a battery level of theelectronic device and/or a desired battery level of the electronicdevice.

In an optional next step 209, the transmitter may refine transmissionparameters based on receiver feedback data to identify a more granularlocation of the transmitter. Based upon an initial identification scan,like in prior step 207, the transmitter may seek updated or more refinedinformation regarding a transmission field or a particular receiver. Insome instances, this data may be stored into a mapping memory asheat-map data for the particular receiver, or may be used to update arecord for a receiver, as stored in the mapping memory.

In some instances, the data feedback produced by the receiver mayindicate that location coordinates for a receiver have changed. In otherwords, the updated or changed data parameters used for identifying thereceiver and for generating power waves for the transmitter may berevised based upon the updated location or based upon the movement ofthe receiver, as determined by the transmitter or receiver.

In a next step 211, the transmitter may calibrate the antennas, of theantenna array transmitting the power waves to the receiver, based on thefeedback communication signal data received from the receiver.

B. Tracking Algorithms & Updating Heat-Map

FIG. 3 shows components of a wireless charging system 300 for trackingand updating mapping data for a transmission field 307 of the exemplarysystem 300, where the exemplary system 300 executes an exemplary method,similar to that shown in FIG. 2. The exemplary system 300 comprises atransmitter 301 and receiver device 309.

A transmitter 301 may comprise a communications component 305 that maytransmit a communications signal to segments 311 of the transmissionfield 307 at a given interval. In addition to the communications signal,the transmitter 301 may transmit to the various segments 311, alow-level power wave, i.e., a power wave having a comparatively loweramount of energy that is detectable by receivers but may not containenough energy to provide wireless power. The communications signal maycontain data that indicates to which segment 311 the low-level power wastransmitted. This indication may be in the form of informationidentifying the various characteristics of the low-level power wave(e.g., distance, height, azimuth, elevation, power level).

Although the exemplary embodiment recites the use of a sequentialscanning of segments within a transmission field, it is intended thatother scanning methods or location identification methods can be used.For example, a receiver may determine its location and identify thislocation in a transmission of a communication signal to a transmitter.In one configuration, the segments can be replaced by the use of X, Y, Zcoordinates or polar coordinates (e.g., azimuth, elevation, distance).In another alternative embodiment, the receiver can respond to thetransmitter with an indication of its location without having received alow-level power wave and having only received a communication signalfrom the transmitter.

In the exemplary embodiment, the transmitter 301 may transmitcommunications signals and low-level power waves in sequential manner,across the segments 311. A receiver 309 in an occupied segment 2B mayeventually receive a communications signal and a low-level power wave,and respond that the receiver 309 gathered the energy from the low-levelpower wave or that the receiver received the low-level power wave at orabove a particular threshold power level.

The transmitter 301 may need more information to determine the locationof the receiver 309 with finer detail. In some cases, the transmitter301 may scan the transmission field 307 more efficiently by scanninglarger segments 311 of the transmission field 307. However, in suchcases, the segments 311 may be too large to transmit power waves. Foreach instance where the transmitter 301 receives a response from areceiver 309 indicating that the receiver 309 is found at a particularoccupied segment 2B, the transmitter may then scan sub-segments 2B1-4 ofthe occupied segment 2B; where scanning the sub-segments 2B1-4 mayinclude transmitting communications signals to each respectivesub-segment 2B1-4 to determine with finer resolution, the location ofthe receiver 309. As an example, the transmitter 301 may seekresolution, where a transmitter 307 may transmit a communicationssignals horizontally, along an X-axis at, e.g., thirty-degreeincrements. When the transmitter 301 receives an indication from thereceiver 309 that the receiver 309 is found at a second segment alongthe X-axis, the transmitter 307 may then transmit communication signalsat one-degree increments within the second segment. The receiver 309 maythen indicate that it is located in a second sub-segment along theX-axis. This process may repeat along a Y-axis and a Z-axis, todetermine a relative height or elevation for the receiver 309 and arelative distance to the receiver 309.

When a predetermined threshold for granularity is satisfied (i.e., thelocation of the receiver is determined within a sufficient area), andthus a satisfactorily small-enough pocket of energy may be definedaround the receiver, the antennas of the transmitter 301 may transmitone or more power waves to the location of the receiver 309, where thelocation is defined by, e.g., three coordinates found within asmall-enough three-dimensional space. In some embodiments, thetransmitter 301 may direct a subset of antennas of a transmitter array303 to work alongside the communications component of the transmitter301 to continue scanning the transmission field 307 for additionalreceivers 309, while another subset of antennas of the antenna arraycontinues to transmit the power waves to the location of the receiver309. As an example, the transmitter 301 may have 95% of the antennaarray 303; focus on transmitting power waves to occupied locations,while the remaining 5% continue to transmit low-level power waves inconjunction with the communication component scanning the transmissionfield 307.

A transmitter 301 may detect when the receiver 309 moves when thetransmitter 301 receives updated feedback data, via the communicationssignal, from the receiver 309. The transmitter 301 may shut off powerwaves altogether if the receiver 309 moves too quickly to determine thenew location of the receiver 309, or if the receiver 309 stopstransmitting feedback data. Ordinarily, the feedback data provided bythe receiver 309 indicates the relative amount of power received fromthe power waves, which may be used to identify and hone thetransmitter's 301 and/or the receiver's 309 understanding of where thereceiver 309 is located in the transmission field 307. Similarly, thetransmitter 301 may implement tracking algorithms to determine whetherthe receiver 309 is in motion (i.e., determine displacement). In someimplementations, the transmitter 301 may use this data to estimate therelative speed the receiver 309 is moving, and how to readjust the powerwaves accordingly. In some cases, the transmitter 301 can update thepower waves such that the power waves converge at a new location wherethe receiver 309 is estimated to be; and in some cases, the transmitter301 may update the power waves to transmit to an anticipated newlocation, in advance of the receiver's 309 arrival at the estimate newlocation. For example, the transmitter may determine that the antennasmay transmit in new places along an X-axis in five-degree increments, asopposed to one-degree increments, as the transmitter 301 determines anincrease in the rate of displacement of the receiver 309 over time.

In some instances, in order for the transmitter 301 to figure out whichcharacteristics of the power waves to apply (e.g., phase) to theantennas of the antenna array 303, when searching granular location, thetransmitter 301 may determine a distance to a location, such as thedistance to a segment 311 on the Z-axis, from every antenna element. Insuch embodiments, the transmitter 301 may pre-calculate the distance forevery point to a receiver 309 or other point of interest. That is, thetransmitter 301 anticipates the distance from every transmitter antenna,so that the transmitter 301 may identify the phase and gain of the powerwaves. This may be done using, e.g., predetermined data or a table, orin real-time based on the receiver's coordinates (X, Y, Z). Thetransmitter 301 may then determine a delay in the phase of therespective power waves, because the transmitter 301 now knows arelatively precise distance to the receiver 309. In some cases, thispre-calculated distance may be transmitted by the communicationscomponent 305 in conjunction with the low-level power waves.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary wireless power system 400 that employsheat-mapping, for identifying receivers 409 inside the service area(i.e., transmission field) of the wireless power system 400. Thetransmitter 401 may comprise a communications component 405 and anantenna array 403. In this example, the transmitter 401 may be situatedat an elevated location within a room, from which the transmitter 401may execute one or more mapping routines, such as heat-mapping routinesto identify the receivers 409.

During heat-mapping routines, the communications component 405 maycontinuously transmit a communications signal to each sequential segmentfalling along an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis. In addition, in somecases, the antenna array 403 may transmit a power wave having arelatively low power level (i.e., low-level power wave) into eachsequential segment, in conjunction with the communications signal. Thecommunication signal may indicate the parameters used to transmit thelow-level power signal (e.g., intended coordinates, power level). Insome cases, the receiver 409 may use the data of the communicationssignal to respond to the transmitter 401 with values for the parametersidentified in the communication signal to allow the transmitter 401 toidentify the receiver's location in the transmission field. And in somecases, the receiver 409 may respond to the communications signal,through a communications channel using a communications protocol and/ortechnology that is distinct from the power waves, by transmitting aresponsive communications signal containing feedback data that thetransmitter 401 may use to hone the locational coordinates of thereceiver 409, or to otherwise generate or cease power waves. Thecommunications component 405 may progress through each sequentialsegment in any order. For example, the communications component 405 maytransmit a communications signal to segments of coarse intervals withina given plane, attempting to identify receivers 409 on that plane. Thecommunications component 405 may then progress to the next coarseinterval segment on the plane, but may rescan a particular segment atrelatively more granular sub-segments when a receiver 409 is identifiedin the coarser segment scan.

In some embodiments, data records may be stored into a mapping memory.The data records may contain data pertaining to attributes of thetransmission field. For example, data records of the mapping memory maystore data associated with receivers 409, objects identified in thetransmission field, and certain locations as defined by a set ofcoordinates. The mapping memory may be a database that contains the datareceived from a transmitter 301 and/or receivers 409. The sophisticationof the data may vary, from a few bits of binary data indicating whethera receiver 409 received a power wave, to data record pertaining to eachattribute of a transmission field. In the current example shown in FIG.4, the mapping memory stores a number of data points for a number ofattributes (e.g., receivers 409, furniture, walls), as such, the mappingmemory may store data that may be used to logically generate theheat-map as shown in FIG. 4.

C. Additional or Alternative Methods Associated with Heat Mapping

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary method 500 for transmitting power wirelessly,from a transmitter to any number of receiver devices, to power thereceiver devices according to an exemplary embodiment.

In a first step 501, a transmitter (TX) establishes a connection orotherwise associates with a receiver (RX). That is, in some embodiments,transmitters and receivers may communicate control data over acommunications signal, using a wireless communication protocol capableof transmitting information between two processors of electrical devices(e.g., Bluetooth®, BLE, Wi-Fi, NFC, ZigBee®). For example, inembodiments implement Bluetooth® or Bluetooth® variants, the transmittermay scan for receiver's broadcasting beacon signals, sometimes called“advertisement signals,” or a receiver may transmit an advertisementsignal to the transmitter. The advertisement signal may announce thereceiver's presence to the transmitter, and may trigger an associationbetween the transmitter and the receiver. As described later, in someembodiments, the advertisement signal may communicate information thatmay be used by various devices (e.g., transmitters, client devices,sever computers, other receivers) to execute and manage pocket-formingprocedures. Information contained within the advertisement signal mayinclude a device identifier (e.g., MAC address, IP address, UUID), thevoltage of electrical energy received, client device power consumption,and other types of data related to power waves. The transmitter may usethe advertisement signal transmitted to identify the receiver and, insome cases, locate the receiver in a two-dimensional space or in athree-dimensional space. Once the transmitter identifies the receiver,the transmitter may establish the connection associated in thetransmitter with the receiver, allowing the transmitter and receiver tocommunicate communication signals over a second channel.

As an example, when a receiver comprising a Bluetooth® processor ispowered-up, or is brought within a detection range of the transmitter,the Bluetooth processor may begin advertising the receiver according toBluetooth® standards. The transmitter may recognize the advertisementand begin establishing connection for communicating control signals andpower transmission signals. In some embodiments, the advertisementsignal may contain unique identifiers so that the transmitter maydistinguish that advertisement and ultimately that receiver from all theother Bluetooth® devices nearby within range.

In a next step 503, when the transmitter detects the advertisementsignal, the transmitter may automatically establish a communicationconnection with that receiver, the establishment of which may allow thetransmitter and receiver to communicate via communications signals. Thetransmitter may then command the receiver to begin transmittingreal-time sample data or control data. The transmitter may also begintransmitting power transmission signals from antennas of thetransmitter's antenna array.

In a next step 505, the receiver may then measure the voltage, amongother metrics related to effectiveness of the power transmissionsignals, based on the electrical energy received by the receiver'santennas. The receiver may generate control data containing the measuredinformation, and then transmit control signals containing the controldata to the transmitter. For example, the receiver may sample thevoltage measurements of received electrical energy, for example, at arate of one-hundred times per second. The receiver may transmit thevoltage sample measurement back to the transmitter, one-hundred times asecond, in the form of control signals.

In some embodiments, the transmitter may execute one or more softwaremodules monitoring the metrics, such as voltage measurements, receivedvia the communications signal from the receiver. Algorithms may varyproduction and transmission of power transmission signals by thetransmitter's antennas, to maximize the effectiveness of the pockets ofenergy around the receiver. For example, the transmitter may adjust thephase at which the transmitter's antenna transmits the powertransmission signals, until that power received by the receiverindicates that an effective pocket of energy is established around thereceiver. When an optimal configuration for the antennas is identified,memory of the transmitter may store the configurations to keep thetransmitter broadcasting at that highest level.

In a next step 509, algorithms of the transmitter may determine when itis necessary to adjust the power transmission signals and may also varythe configuration of the transmit antennas, in response to determiningsuch adjustments are necessary. For example, the transmitter maydetermine the power received at a receiver is less than maximal, basedon the data received from the receiver. The transmitter may thenautomatically adjust the phase of the power transmission signals, butmay also simultaneously continue to receive and monitor the voltagebeing reported back from receiver.

In a next step 511, after a determined period of time for communicatingwith a particular receiver, the transmitter may scan and/orautomatically detect advertisements from other receivers that may be inrange of the transmitter. The transmitter may establish anothercommunications signal connection with the second receiver, which in somecases may be established in response to the second receiver or thetransmitter receiving an advertisement or beacon signal from the secondreceiver or the transmitter, respectively.

In a next step 513, after establishing a second communication connectionwith the second receiver, the transmitter may proceed to adjust one ormore antennas in the transmitter's antenna array for transmitting powerwaves from the transmitter to the second receiver and the first receiverat the same time or in an alternating manner. In some embodiments, thetransmitter may identify a subset of antennas to service the secondreceiver, thereby parsing the array into subsets of arrays that areassociated with a receiver. In some embodiments, the entire antennaarray may service a first receiver for a given period of time, and thenthe entire array may service the second receiver for that period oftime.

The transmitter may prioritize transmissions to more than one receiver.For example, the prioritization may be based upon a distance between thereceiver and the transmitter, to determine whether the receiver iscapable of receiving a sufficient amount of power due to its distancefrom the transmitter. This distance may be obtained from a communicationsignal between the transmitter and receiver. In another example, theprioritization may be based upon a power level (i.e., battery level) ofa device associated with a receiver and the need of that device tocharge its battery (e.g., battery with a low charge may be prioritizedover a battery that is almost fully charged). The power level of adevice may be obtained from the receiver in a communication signal tothe transmitter. Accordingly, the transmitter can allocate a firstsubset of antennas and a second subset of antennas based upon thisprioritization.

Manual or automated processes performed by the transmitter may select asubset of arrays to service the second receiver. In this example, thetransmitter's array may be split in half, forming two subsets. As aresult, half of the antennas may be configured to transmit powertransmission signals to the first receiver, and half of the antennas maybe configured for the second receiver. In the current step 513, thetransmitter may apply similar techniques discussed above to configure oroptimize the subset of antennas for the second receiver. While selectinga subset of an array for transmitting power transmission signals, thetransmitter and second receiver may be communicating control data. As aresult, by the time that the transmitter alternates back tocommunicating with the first receiver and/or scan for new receivers, thetransmitter has already received a sufficient amount of sample data toadjust the phases of the waves transmitted by second subset of thetransmitter's antenna array, to transmit power waves to the secondreceiver effectively.

In a next step 515, after adjusting the second subset to transmit powertransmission signals to the second receiver, the transmitter mayalternate back to communicating control data with the first receiver, orscanning for additional receivers. The transmitter may reconfigure theantennas of the first subset, and then alternate between the first andsecond receivers at a predetermined interval.

In a next step 517, the transmitter may continue to alternate betweenreceivers and scanning for new receivers, at a predetermined interval.As each new receiver is detected, the transmitter may establish aconnection and begin transmitting power transmission signals,accordingly.

In one exemplary embodiment, the receiver may be electrically connectedto a device like a smart phone. The transmitter's processor would scanfor any Bluetooth devices. The receiver may begin advertising dataindicating that it is, e.g., a Bluetooth-enabled device, through thecommunications component of the receiver, such as a Bluetooth® chip.Inside the advertisement, there may be unique identifiers so that thetransmitter, upon receiving the response to the advertisement, coulddistinguish that receiver's advertisement, and ultimately that receiver,from all other receivers within the transmission range. When thetransmitter detects that advertisement and notices it is a receiver,then the transmitter may immediately form a communication connectionwith that receiver and command that receiver to begin sending real timesample data.

The receiver would then measure the voltage at its receiving antennas,send that voltage sample measurement back to the transmitter (e.g., upto, or exceeding, 100 times a second). The transmitter may start to varythe configuration of the transmit antennas by adjusting the phase. Asthe transmitter adjusts the phase, the transmitter monitors the voltagebeing sent back from the receiver. In some implementations, the higherthe voltage, the more energy may be in the pocket. The antenna phasesmay be altered until the voltage is at the highest level and there is amaximum pocket of energy around the receiver. The transmitter may keepthe antennas at the particular phase so the voltage is at the highestlevel.

The transmitter may vary each individual antenna, one at a time. Forexample, if there are 32 antennas in the transmitter, and each antennahas 8 phases, the transmitter may begin with the first antenna and wouldstep the first antenna through all 8 phases. The receiver may then sendback the power level for each of the 8 phases of the first antenna. Thetransmitter may then store the highest phase for the first antenna. Thetransmitter may repeat this process for the second antenna, and step itthrough 8 phases. The receiver may again send back the power levels fromeach phase, and the transmitter may store the highest level. Next, thetransmitter may repeat the process for the third antenna and continue torepeat the process until all 32 antennas have stepped through the 8phases. At the end of the process, the transmitter may transmit themaximum voltage in the most efficient manner to the receiver.

In another exemplary embodiment, the transmitter may detect a secondreceiver's advertisement and form a communication connection with thesecond receiver. When the transmitter forms the communication with thesecond receiver, the transmitter may aim the original 32 antennastowards the second receiver and repeat the phase process for each of the32 antennas aimed at the second receiver. Once the process is completed,the second receiver may get as much power as possible from thetransmitter. The transmitter may communicate with the second receiverfor a second, and then alternate back to the first receiver for apredetermined period of time (e.g., a second), and the transmitter maycontinue to alternate back and forth between the first receiver and thesecond receiver at the predetermined time intervals.

In yet another implementation, the transmitter may detect a secondreceiver's advertisement and form a communication connection with thesecond receiver. First, the transmitter may communicate with the firstreceiver and re-assign half of the exemplary 32 the antennas aimed atthe first receiver, dedicating only 16 towards the first receiver. Thetransmitter may then assign the second half of the antennas to thesecond receiver, dedicating 16 antennas to the second receiver. Thetransmitter may adjust the phases for the second half of the antennas.Once the 16 antennas have gone through each of the 8 phases, the secondreceiver may be obtaining the maximum voltage in the most efficientmanner to the receiver.

D. Mobile App for Receiver

In some instances, a receiver may be embedded into an electrical device,or may be controlled by a software application associated with thewireless power system. These instances arise where, e.g., the receiverand the electrical device are the same product, or the receiver has thecapability to receive power waves, but may not comprise an operablecommunications component. In such instances, the software application,such as a smartphone application, may be used to identify or “tag” thereceiver on behalf of a transmitter.

A tag may be any means of conveying to the transmitter that thetransmitter is responsible for transmitting power waves to the receiverof the electrical device, regardless of whether the typical dataexchange takes place. For example, in one embodiment, an administratormay use a smartphone, executing a software application of the system, toinform the transmitters to transmit power waves to a wall clockcomprising receiver antennas, but lacking a communications component.Using the smartphone application, the user may place the smartphonenearby the wall clock and then select an interface input to transmit thetransmission field coordinates of the wall clock to the transmitterand/or a mapping memory. As a result, the transmitter will continue totransmit power waves to the receiver, based upon the now “tagged”location provided by the smartphone application.

In some instances, the smartphone application may generate an interfaceindicating for the user a suggested location for receiving power wavesin a pocket of energy. That is, the smartphone application may query amemory map to identify where the transmitters and/or receivers havedetermined to form pockets of energy and avoid identified sensitiveobjects. The mapping memory data may provide the smartphone applicationwith coordinates data that the smartphone application may bepreconfigured to understand and interpret to identify the locations ofpockets of energy. In some embodiments, however, the smartphone mayexecute one or more of the algorithms performed by the receiver devices,as disclosed herein, to identify the most efficient location to placethe receiver. The smartphone app may dynamically determine where withina transmission field the receiver may receive a maximally efficientamount of power from power waves or pockets of energy, as transmittedinto a transmission field by one or more transmitters. The smartphoneapplication may determine from any number of power pockets in atransmission field, which power pocket is most effective, or even theclosest, and then generate an interface with an indicator, such as anarrow, directing the user to the pocket of energy.

III. Transmitter Sensors & Identifying Sensitive Objects

Some modes of operation may be sensitive to the regulatory requirementspertaining to living beings and sensitive objects. Living beings mayinclude human beings, and other living beings such as domesticatedanimals. Sensitive objects include certain equipment and other valuableobjects that are sensitive to electromagnetic energy in power waves. Inanother mode of operation, sensors may detect inanimate objects thathave been tagged to avoid wireless power transmission, such as obstaclesto power transmission, in trajectories of power waves. Under thesecircumstances, data sensors may cause transmitters to reduce orterminate power waves, or to redirect power waves (e.g., to avoidobstacles) or other responses described above.

In addition, the system for forming pockets of energy includes safetymeasures to address circumstances in which entities (such as objects)within the transmission field may interfere with reliable detection ofhumans or other living beings or sensitive objects in proximity topockets of energy. In one embodiment, sensors detects inanimate objectsor other entities (called objects in the following discussion) that havebeen tagged to be excluded from receipt of wireless power transmissionin trajectories of power waves. Under these circumstances, sensors maycause transmitters to reduce or terminate power waves, to redirect powerwaves away from the tagged object, and/or other safety measures such asactivating alarm. Tagged inanimate objects may include for exampleobstacles that interfere with sensor reception, and objects that may beoccupied by infants or young children such as cribs.

To enable transmitter to detect and confirm objects that the user wishesto exclude from receipt of wireless power, the user may communicate totransmitter tagging information to be recorded in a mapping memory oftransmitter. For example, the user may provide tagging information via auser device in communication with the controller of transmitter, via agraphical user interface (GUI) of the user device. Exemplary tagginginformation includes location data for an electrical device, which mayinclude one-dimensional coordinates of a region in space containing theobject, two-dimensional (2D) coordinates of a region in space containingthe object, or three-dimensional (3D) coordinates of a region in spacecontaining the object.

Additionally, tagging information for objects to be excluded fromreceipt of wireless power may be provided by scanning the transmissionfield of a wireless power system with sensors to detect such objects.Scanning with sensors dynamically maintains the mapping memory oftransmitter, for example to update tagging information previouslyprovided to the mapping memory via a user device as described above. Inan embodiment, the transmission field of wireless power system isscanned periodically to detect sensor responses indicating updatedtagging information for objects to be excluded from receipt of wirelesspower, using one or more of pyro-electric sensors, ultrasound sensors,millimeter sensors, and power sensors, or other sensor technologies.

Sensors may detect various conditions, such as the presence of sensitiveobjects or tagged objects, within a two or three-dimensional space(i.e., transmission field) serviced by a wireless charging system.Acting in conjunction with one or more transmitters of a wirelesscharging system, sensors and transmitters may execute various methodsfor providing safe, reliable, and efficient wireless power, bydynamically producing, adjusting, and/or terminating power wavesgenerated by the transmitters. As detailed further herein, whendetermining the appropriate waveform characteristics for power waves, atransmitter may calculate the power levels of those power wavesconverging to form a pocket of energy at a predetermined location withina transmission field. These power levels measurements may include, forexample, the power density (W/m2) and/or the electric field level (V/m),though one having ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that othermeasurements are possible as well.

A. Sensors Identifying Devices & Adjusting Power Waves

FIG. 6 shows execution steps of an exemplary method 600 of wirelesspower transmission using sensor data to automatically identify andadjust certain operating conditions of wireless a power transmissionsystem.

At a first step 601, a transmitter calculates power waves for apredetermined location within a transmission field, which may be a twoor three-dimensional space receiving wireless power services from thetransmitters of the wireless power system. The transmitter may calculatepower waves for the predetermined location during the start-up ofoperation of the transmitter, or may calculate power waves for thepredetermined location during ongoing wireless power transmissions ofthe transmitter. In some implementations, the transmitter calculatespower waves for a predetermined location for forming pockets of energyat the predetermined location. As disclosed herein, in calculating powerwaves, the transmitter may calculate power levels of power waves thatconverge in a three dimensional space to form one or more first pocketsof energy at a predetermined location at the predetermined location,such as power density (W/m2) and/or electric field level (V/m).

In some embodiments of this step 601, the transmitter's calculationpower waves, for a predetermined location, is included in mapping dataor heat-map data, used for determining pocket-forming locations forpower waves transmitted by the transmitter. The heat-map data may bestored in a mapping database maintained by transmitter, or may bemaintained in a database stored externally to transmitter, such as adatabase stored at a server in communication with transmitter. In anembodiment, the transmitter associates the calculated power waves withlocation coordinates (e.g., 3D or 2D coordinates) of a transmissionfield at the predetermined location.

In additional or alternative embodiments of this step 601, thetransmitter transmits power waves that converge in a transmission fieldto form one or more first pockets of energy at the predeterminedlocation, and power transmission signals that converge to form one ormore second pockets of energy at a second location, separated from thepredetermined location. In an embodiment, the power waves generate sidelobes, which result in formation of, sometimes undesired, second pocketsof energy. In an embodiment, the predetermined location of the one ormore first pockets of energy, and the second location of the secondpockets of energy, both are included in a heat-map of pocket forminglocations of the transmitter. Where such side lobes result in undesiredsecond pockets of energy, the location data for the second pockets ofenergy may be used to generate a null (i.e., converge power waves toproduce destructive interference) at the location of the second pocketsof energy.

At a next step 603, sensors may communicate, to the transmitter, sensordata relating to conditions within the power transmission field. In anembodiment, sensors communicate sensor data relating to unsafe orprohibited operating conditions of the system (e.g., power levels forpower waves transmitted at a particular location would exceed apermissible amount). In one embodiment, the sensors communicate sensordata relating to the presence of living beings or sensitive objectswithin the transmission field. In another embodiment, the sensorscommunicate sensor data relating to presence of one or more objects tobe excluded from receipt of power waves. For example, there mayinstances where, regardless of whether a person is presently detected bya sensor at a particular location; it might be preferable to altogetheravoid transmitting power waves to the particular location.

In an embodiment of step 603, sensors acquire and communicate to thetransmitter location related information concerning a living being orobject. In an embodiment, one or more sensors acquire informationconcerning the distance from the one or more sensors of a detectedliving being or object. In another embodiment, one or more sensorsacquire information indicating a motion of the living being or objectbased upon a series at different times of the data indicating thepresence of the living being or object. In another embodiment of step603, sensors acquire and communicate location-related information, andat least one non-location attribute, of a living being or object. In anembodiment, at least one non-location attribute of the living being orobject includes one or more of pyro-electric sensor responses, opticalsensor responses, ultrasound sensor responses, and millimeter sensorresponses.

At step 605, a transmitter determines whether to adjust power waves forthe predetermined location based on the sensor data acquired andcommunicated at a previous step 603. In an embodiment, a transmittercompares location data for a living being or object identified by thesensors in a previous step 603 with one dimensional, two dimensional, orthree-dimensional coordinates of the predetermined location. In anembodiment, the transmitter compares the power levels (e.g., powerdensity (W/m2), electric field level (V/m)) of the power wavesconverging at or set to converge at the predetermined location, ascalculated at a previous step 601, against one or more maximumpermissible power levels for safe operation.

In another embodiment of step 605, the transmitter compares objectdetection data that relates to one or more objects, and may be stored asmapping data or sensor data, against tagging information that indicatesan object is to be excluded from receipt of power waves. In anembodiment, tagging information indicating an object is to be excludedfrom receipt of power waves was previously communicated to thetransmitter by a user device, such as a workstation computer orsmartphone executing a software application associated with the wirelesspower charging system. In another embodiment, tagging informationrelating to an object to be excluded from receipt of power waves wasprovided to transmitter by one or more sensors while scanning thetransmission field for objects, e.g., sensitive objects and/orreceivers. In a further embodiment, one or more sensors obtainmeasurements of the sensors' sensitivity at various regions within thetransmission field, and communicate the sensitivity measurements to thetransmitter. Regions in the transmission field where the sensors havelow sensor sensitivity measurements are tagged to be excluded fromreceipt of power waves, by a sensor processor or transmitter processor.

At a next step 607, after determining power levels for transmittingpower waves, the transmitter calibrates antennas and transmits powerwaves based on the determinations made during a previous step 605. Incircumstances where the determination does not detect an unsafe orprohibited condition, then power waves transmitted in step 607 may havethe waveform characteristics (e.g., power levels) that were initiallycalculated at a previous step 605. On the other hand, in circumstanceswhere the determination detects an unsafe or prohibited condition, thepower waves transmitted in step 607 may be terminated from transmittingor they may have updated waveform characteristics, adjusted as neededfrom the power waves calculated at step 601. In various embodiments, theunsafe or prohibited condition may be information relating to thelocation of a living being or a sensitive object indicating that theliving being or sensitive object is proximate (e.g., touching, adjacent,nearby) to a predetermined location (e.g., location for a pocket ofenergy), or may be object detection data that corresponds to tagginginformation relating to an object to be excluded from receipt of powerwaves.

In an embodiment of step 607, the transmitter reduces the power level ofthe power waves at the predetermined location when the determination atstep 605 identifies an unsafe or prohibited condition. In anotherembodiment, the transmitter terminates transmission of the power wavesto the predetermined location when the determination at step 605identifies an unsafe or prohibited condition. In a further embodiment,the transmitter adjusts the characteristics of the power waves todiminish the amount of energy provided by the power waves at thepredetermined location, when the determination at step 605 identifies anunsafe or prohibited condition. In another embodiment, when thedetermination at step 605 identifies an unsafe or prohibited conditionat a particular location in the transmission field, the transmitter mayadjust the characteristics of the power waves, or adjusts the antennaarray of the transmitter, to redirect the power waves around theparticular location. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter mayactivate an alarm when the transmitter identifies an unsafe orprohibited condition at step 605, based upon the sensor data receivedfrom the sensors associated with the transmitter.

The initially-calculated or adjusted power waves transmitted in thecurrent step 607 may be RF waves the converge into constructiveinterference patters, which may eventually form pockets of energy, whichmay be intercepted or otherwise received by antennas of a receiver. Thereceiver may rectify the RF waves to then convert the rectified RF wavesinto a constant DC voltage, which may be used to charge or power anelectronic device.

B. Adaptively Adjusting Power Waves in Ongoing Power Charging

FIG. 7 shows steps of an exemplary method 700 for wireless powertransmission that protects living beings and other sensitive objectsduring ongoing transmission of power waves by transmitters of a wirelesspower system. Transmitters of a wireless power system may comprisesensors that detect whether a living being or sensitive object is inproximity to one or more pockets of energy, power waves, and/or atransmitter. In these circumstances, the sensor data generated by thesensors may cause the transmitter to reduce or terminate power levels ofpower waves, among a number of additional or alternative actions.

At a first step 701, a transmitter transmits power waves to apredetermined location. As mentioned, the power waves transmitted atthis step 701 may converge into a three-dimensional constructiveinterference pattern, eventually forming one or more pockets of energyat the predetermined location. The predetermined location may beincluded in mapping data, such as sensor data or heat-map data, used fordetermining where in a transmission field to transmit power waves. Insome implementations, the mapping data containing the predeterminedlocation may be stored in a mapping memory that is internal or externalto the transmitter. In some implementations, the mapping data may begenerated in real-time or near real-time by a transmitter processor or asensor processor. In addition, in some implementations, the mapping datacontaining the predetermined location may be provided from a userdevice, through a software application associated with the wirelesscharging system.

In some embodiments of step 701, the transmitter transmits power wavesthat converge in the transmission field to form a pocket of energy atthe predetermined location, and also power waves that converge to form asecond pocket of energy at a second location in the transmission field,which is separate from the predetermined location for the first pocketof energy. That is, in some instances, power waves may result in thegeneration of side lobes of power waves, which causes the formation ofone or more second pockets of energy, in addition to the first pocket ofenergy generated at the predetermined location. In some implementations,the predetermined location for the first pocket of energy and the secondlocation having the second pocket of energy, are both included inmapping data (e.g., sensor data, heat-map data), tracking the locationsof pocket-forming for the transmitter. Although waveform generation andtransmission techniques may be employed to avoid or reduce formation ofside lobes, various embodiments of wireless power transmission disclosedherein, such as the exemplary method 700, may intelligently protectliving beings and sensitive objects when these and other types of secondpockets of energy are present in a transmission field.

At a next step 703, one or more sensors acquire raw sensor dataindicating presence of a living being or sensitive object, and thencommunicate raw or processed sensor data to the transmitter. In anembodiment, sensors may acquire and communicate location-relatedinformation concerning the living being or sensitive object. In anembodiment, one or more sensors acquire and communicate to thetransmitter location-related information, and at least one non-locationattribute, of the living being or sensitive object. In an embodiment, atleast one non-location attribute of the living being or sensitive objectincludes one or more of pyro-electric sensor responses, optical sensorresponses, ultrasound sensor responses, and millimeter sensor responses.

In an embodiment, a first sensor is located at a first position on thetransmitter, and a second sensor is located at a second position on thetransmitter separated from the first position. The first and secondsensors acquire stereoscopic data indicating presence of a living beingor sensitive object.

In an embodiment, a first sensor provides a first type of dataindicating the presence of the living being or the sensitive object, anda second sensor provides a second type of data indicating the presenceof the living being or the sensitive object. Use of mixed sensor typesgenerally improves target discrimination. In an embodiment, at least oneof the first types of data and the second type of data indicateslocation in three-dimensional space of the living being or the sensitiveobject.

In an embodiment, one or more sensors acquire and communicate to thetransmitter human recognition sensor data, including one or more of bodytemperature data, infrared range-finder data, motion data, activityrecognition data, silhouette data, gesture data, heart rate data,portable devices data, and wearable devices data. Additionally oralternatively, the one or more sensors that acquire sensor dataindicating presence of a living being or sensitive object may compriseone or more of a passive sensor, an active sensor, and a smart sensor.The sensors may include one or more of an infrared sensor, apyro-electric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, an opticalsensor, and Doppler sensor, an accelerometer, a microwave sensor, amillimeter sensor, a resonant LC sensor, and an RF standing wave sensor.

At a next step 705, the transmitter obtains sensor data from the sensoror mapping memory, comprising location-related information correspondingto a living being or sensitive object, as indicated by the raw orprocessed sensor data generated by the sensor indicating the presence ofthe living being or sensitive object. As an example, one or more sensorsmay acquire raw sensor data identifying the presence of a living beingor sensitive object, process the raw sensor data, and then generatesensor data containing information indicating the distance of the livingbeing or sensitive object from one or more sensors or transmitters.

In another embodiment, a first sensor is located at a first position onthe transmitter, and a second sensor is located at a second position onthe transmitter separated from the first position. In step 705, thetransmitter obtains stereoscopic location data relating to a livingbeing or sensitive object based on the data acquired by the first andsecond sensors located at separated positions on the transmitter. In anembodiment, in step 705, the transmitter combines distance informationwith other information, such as stereoscopic sensor data, in order todetermine the proximity of the living being or sensitive object to apredetermined location for the power waves, or other location within thetransmission field where transmission of power waves should be avoided.

In a further embodiment, one or more sensors may acquire raw sensor dataor generate processed sensor data containing information indicating thedisplacement or motion of a living being or sensitive object in atransmission field, based upon a series at different times of the dataindicating the presence of the living being or sensitive object. In step705, the transmitter uses this motion information to sense movement ofthe living being or sensitive object relative to the predeterminedlocation.

In some embodiments, in step 705, one or more sensors, the transmitter,or both, may filter sensor data indicating the presence of a livingbeing or sensitive object, to eliminate or minimize false positives(i.e. false indications of the presence of a living being or sensitiveobject). This filter may query, alter, and/or remove the informationrelating to a location of the living being or the sensitive object, asrequired. As an example, a sensor processor of a pyro-electric sensormay apply filtering techniques to the pyro-electric sensor dataassociated with an extraneous heat source detected within thetransmission field of a transmitter. In this example, the filtering mayexclude data points corresponding to the extraneous heat source from thesensor data indicating a living being or sensitive object.

At a next step 707, a transmitter determines whether to adjust thecharacteristics of the power waves, based upon the location dataassociated with a living being or sensitive object identified in mappingdata or sensor data. The transmitter compares the location data for theliving being or sensitive object, obtained at a previous step 705,against planar coordinates (e.g., one-dimensional coordinates,two-dimensional coordinates, three-dimensional coordinates, polarcoordinates) associated with the predetermined location, where thecoordinates for the predetermined location may be stored in a mappingmemory of the transmitter or the wireless charging system. In anembodiment, the transmitter compares the power levels generated by thepower waves at the predetermined location (e.g., power densities (W/m2)and/or electric field levels (V/m)), which may be power levels that werecalculated at a previous step 701, against one or more maximumpermissible power level for the living being or sensitive object.

In some implementations, in step 707, the transmitter may apply safetytechniques to the determination of whether to adjust the power waves,using the location data in the sensor data associated with the livingbeing or sensitive object. One safety technique is to include a marginof error (e.g., a margin of 10%-20%) beyond the regulatory limits orother limits on maximum permissible power level or on EMF exposure, toensure living beings or sensitive objects are not exposed to powerlevels at or near the limits. A second safety technique involvesmultistage determinations of whether, and how, to adjust characteristicsof the power waves. For example, at a first stage, the location datagenerated by the sensor may indicate movement of a living being orsensitive object, toward the location of a pocket of energy, resultingin a determination to reduce power level of power waves (i.e.,anticipating that living being or sensitive object enter the pocket ofenergy). At a second stage, the location data may indicate the arrivalof the living being or sensitive object at the location of the pocket ofenergy, resulting in a determination to terminate power waves.

At a next step 709, the transmitter may execute one or more actions, ifthe transmitter determines at a previous step 707 to adjust power wavesbased on the location data in the sensor data associated with the livingbeing or sensitive object. In some cases, the transmitter reduces thepower level of the power waves at the predetermined location, when thetransmitter determines at a previous step 707 to adjust the power waves.In some cases, the transmitter terminates transmission of the powerwaves to the predetermined location, when the transmitter determines ata previous step 707 to adjust or terminate the power waves. In somecases, the transmitter diminishes the amount of energy of the powerwaves at the predetermined location, when the transmitter determines ata previous step 707 to adjust the power waves. In some embodiments, thetransmitter redirects the transmission of the power waves around theliving being or sensitive object, when the transmitter determines at aprevious step 707 to adjust the power waves. Additionally oralternatively, the transmitter may activate an alarm of the transmitteror wireless charging system, when the transmitter determines at previousstep 707 to adjust the power waves.

C. Tagging Objects to Avoid

FIG. 8 illustrates a method of wireless power transmission in whichsensors acquire object detection data by detecting one or more objects,which may be inanimate objects such as obstacles to power transmission,during ongoing transmission of power waves by a transmitter. Atransmitter compares the object detection data with identifyinginformation relating to an entity to be excluded from receipt of powerwaves, and based on this comparison, determines whether to adjusttransmission of the power waves.

At step 801, transmitter transmits power waves to a predeterminedlocation. In an embodiment, the power waves transmitted at this stepconverge in a three dimensional pattern to form one or more pockets ofenergy at the predetermined location.

At step 803, at least one sensor acquires and communicates to thetransmitter object detection data indicating presence of one or moreobjects. In an embodiment, the object detection data includes locationrelated information for the one or more objects. In an embodiment, theobject detection data comprises location related information for the oneor more objects, and at least one non-location attribute for the one ormore objects. In an embodiment, at least one sensor includes one or moreof a passive sensor, an active sensor, and a smart sensor. In anembodiment, at least one sensor includes one or more of an infraredsensor, a pyro-electric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, anoptical sensor, an Doppler sensor, an accelerometer, a microwave sensor,a millimeter sensor, a resonant LC sensor, and an RF standing wavesensor.

At step 805, the transmitter determines whether to adjust thetransmission of the power waves by comparing the object detection datawith identifying information relating to an entity to be excluded fromreceipt of the power waves. In an embodiment, identifying informationfor the object to be excluded from receipt of power waves was previouslycommunicated by a user to the transmitter for storage in a database ofthe transmitter. The identifying information may include informationconcerning the location of the object to be excluded from receipt ofpower waves, and may include non-location information concerning theobject to be excluded from receipt of power waves. The user may providethe identifying information using a graphical user interface (GUI) (suchas a standard web browser) on a computer device in communication withthe transmitter. The computer device may be for example a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a PDA, a smartphone and/oranother type of processor-controlled device that may receive, process,and/or transmit digital data. The computer device may be configured todownload the graphical user interface from an application store tocommunicate with the transmitter.

In another embodiment, the identifying information for the object to beexcluded from receipt of power waves is provided to the transmitter byat least one sensor via scanning a transmission field for the wirelesspower transmission to detect the identifying information.

In an embodiment, identifying information for the entity to be excludedfrom receipt of power waves comprises one-dimensional coordinates of aregion in space containing the entity, or two-dimensional coordinates ofthe region in space containing the entity, or three-dimensionalcoordinates of the region in space containing the entity.

In an embodiment, the object detection data comprises location relatedinformation for the one or more objects and at least one non-locationattribute of the one or more objects. In an embodiment, at least onenon-location attribute includes one or more of pyro-electric sensorresponses, optical sensor responses, ultrasound sensor responses,millimeter sensor responses of the designated device, and power sensorresponses of the one or more objects.

In an embodiment, at least one sensor obtains sensitivity measurementsof the sensor at various regions in space, and communicates thesesensitivity measurements to the transmitter. A region in space with alow sensitivity measurement of the sensor is tagged by transmitter to beexcluded from receipt of power waves. This dynamic scanning methodavoids transmission of power waves to regions in space in which a sensoris blocked from detecting, or may be otherwise unable to detect, unsafeor prohibited conditions of wireless power transmission system.

In an embodiment, the object detection data includes location relatedinformation for the one or more objects, and the identifying informationincludes coordinates of the entity to be excluded from receipt of thepower waves. In determining whether to adjust the transmission of thepower waves, the transmitter determines whether the location relatedinformation indicates that the one or more objects are proximate to thecoordinates of the entity to be excluded from receipt of the powerwaves.

At step 807, the transmitter reduces power level, terminatestransmission of power waves, or redirects the power waves if thetransmitter determines at step 805 to adjust the transmission of thepower waves. In an embodiment, the transmitter reduces the power levelof the power waves at the predetermined location when the transmitterdetermines at step 805 to adjust the power waves. In another embodiment,the transmitter terminates transmission of the power waves to thepredetermined location when the transmitter determines at step 805 toadjust the power waves. In a further embodiment, the transmitterdiminishes energy of the power waves at the predetermined location whenthe transmitter determines at step 805 to adjust the power waves. Inanother embodiment, the transmitter redirects the power waves when thetransmitter determines at step 805 to adjust the power waves. Inaddition, the transmitter may activate an alarm when the transmitterdetermines at step 805 to adjust the power waves.

D. Identifying Receivers with Sensors

As previously mentioned, in some implementations, sensors may beconfigured to identify receivers in a transmission field that shouldreceive power waves from a transmitter. In such implementations, thetransmitter may gather mapping data for receivers in the transmissionfield as an alternative or as a supplement to the communicationscomponent typically used by the transmitter to identify receivers. As anexample, this alternative or additional solution of identifyingreceivers may be implemented by a transmitter when the receiver and/orthe transmitter do not have access to a communications component.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method of wireless power transmission that powersor charges electrical devices selected (e.g., by a user) to receivepower from the wireless power system. For example, the method of FIG. 9can transmit wireless power to electrical devices, such as alarm clocksor smoke alarms, which do not include a communications component thattransmits communications signals to the transmitter in order to exchangedata in real-time or near real-time. In this method, sensors detectelectrical devices and communicate apparatus detection data to thetransmitter. The transmitter determines whether the apparatus detectiondata corresponds to a designated device selected to receive power fromthe transmitter with reference to a database of the transmitterincluding identifying information for one or more such designateddevices. Based on this determination, transmitter may transmit powerwaves that converge to form one or more pockets of energy at thelocations of any detected electrical devices corresponding to thedesignated devices selected to receive wireless power transmission.

At step 901, at least one sensor acquires apparatus detection dataindicating the presence of an electrical apparatus. In an embodiment,the apparatus detection data includes information on the location of theelectrical apparatus. In another embodiment, the apparatus detectiondata includes information on the location of the electrical apparatus,and at least one non-location attribute for the electrical apparatus. Inan embodiment, at least one sensor includes one or more of pyro-electricsensors, optical sensors, ultrasound sensors, millimeter sensors, andpower sensors, among other sensor technologies.

At step 903, the transmitter determines whether the apparatus detectiondata acquired at step 901 corresponds to a designated device selected toreceive power from the transmitter. In an embodiment, identifyinginformation for one or more designated device selected to receive powerfrom the transmitter was previously communicated by a user to thetransmitter for storage in a database of the transmitter. Theidentifying information may include information concerning the locationof the one or more designated device, and may include non-locationinformation concerning the designated device. The user may provide theidentifying information using a graphical user interface (GUI) (such asa standard web browser) on a computer device in communication with thetransmitter. The computer device may be for example a desktop computer,a laptop computer, a tablet, a PDA, a smartphone and/or another type ofprocessor-controlled device that may receive, process, and/or transmitdigital data. The computer device may be configured to download thegraphical user interface from an application store to communicate withthe transmitter.

In an embodiment, the apparatus detection data includes information onthe location of the electrical apparatus, and the transmitters comparesthis information with previously stored one-dimensional coordinates of aregion in space containing the designated device, two-dimensionalcoordinates of the region in space containing the designated device, orthree-dimensional coordinates of the region in space containing thedesignated device. In an example, the transmitter compares apparatusdetection data indicating the location of the electrical apparatus(e.g., wall clock) at coordinates within a transmission field, againstpreviously stored data records in a database coupled to the transmitter,where the data records contain data for designated devices selected toreceive power from the transmitter. Based on correspondence between thelocation of the electrical apparatus and the previously storedtransmission field coordinates, the transmitter determines that theelectrical apparatus corresponds to the wall clock, and thus the wallclock should receive power waves from the transmitter at the particularcoordinates.

In an embodiment, the apparatus detection data includes information onthe location of the electrical apparatus, and at least one non-locationattribute of the electrical apparatus. In an embodiment, the at leastone non-location attribute includes one or more of pyro-electric sensorresponses, optical sensor responses, ultrasound sensor responses,millimeter sensor responses of the designated device, and power sensorresponses of the designated device. In an example of a non-locationattribute, the apparatus detection data includes an identifier, such anRFID tag, and the transmitter compares this identifier with a uniqueidentifier of the designed device previously stored in the transmitter.Based on correspondence between the identifier of the apparatusdetection data and the previously stored unique identifier of thedesigned device, the transmitter determines that the electricalapparatus corresponds to the designated device. The transmitter may makea determination to transmit power to the electrical apparatus in thisexample, even though the electrical apparatus may have moved to adifferent location than a location of the designated device previouslystored in the transmitter database.

In an embodiment, the apparatus detection data includes information onthe location of the electrical apparatus, and in addition to carryingout the determination step 903, the transmitter stores mappinginformation corresponding to the location of the electrical apparatus,for future reference. In an embodiment, the apparatus detection dataincludes information on the location of the electrical apparatus, and inaddition to carrying out the determination step 903, the transmitterupdates previously stored mapping information corresponding to thelocation of the electrical apparatus.

In an embodiment of step 903, in determining whether the apparatusdetection data corresponds to a designated device, the transmitterfurther determines identification and attribute information for thedesignated device, the identification and attribute informationincluding one or more of level of power usage of the designated device,duration of power usage of the designated device, power schedule of thedesignated device, and authentication credentials of the designateddevice.

At step 905, the transmitter transmits power waves for receiving by theelectrical apparatus if the apparatus detection data corresponds to adesignated device selected to receive power from the transmitter. In anembodiment in which the transmitter determines identification andattribute information for the designated device, that identification andattribute information may control whether, or when, the transmittertransmits power waves for receiving by the electrical apparatus.Examples of identification and attribute information include power usageof the designed device, duration of power usage of the designateddevice, power schedule of the designated device, and authenticationcredentials of the designated device.

At step 907, in the event the electrical apparatus is connected to areceiver, the receiver intercepts and converts the power waves to chargeor power the electrical apparatus. In an embodiment in which the powerwaves are RF waves that form one or more pockets of energy in the formof constructive interference patterns of the RF waves, and then thereceiver gathers the energy from the resulting pocket of energy. Here,the receiver rectifies the energy from the RF waves that produce thepocket of energy, and converts the rectified RF waves into a constant DCvoltage that can charge or power the electrical apparatus.

E. Exemplary Embodiment

In the following exemplary embodiment of a sensor subsystem of awireless power transmitter (“transmitter”), the transmitter may comprisetwo types of sensors: a primary sensor and a secondary sensor. Theprimary sensor may implement any sensor technology capable of capturingand generating sensor data regarding temperature or heat information forobjects (e.g., living beings) located within a transmission field, whichmay include infrared or thermal sensors. The secondary sensor mayoperate with a sensor technology whose purpose is to measure objects atsome distance and/or in proximity to the transmitter using analternative sensor technology, such as an ultrasonic sensor. It shouldbe appreciated that, in some embodiments, references to “primary” and“secondary” sensors does not always indicate a level of priority of theinformation produced by these sensors.

Continuing with this example, the primary thermal sensor and thesecondary distance sensor may report analog data (i.e., raw sensor data)directly to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) associatedwith the respective sensor. The operations of the ASICs may becontrolled by a sensor processor, which may be a microcontroller orprocessor configured to control the ASICs. As an example, afterreceiving the raw sensor data, each ASIC may then digitize, process, andcommunicate the processed sensor data to the respective processor. TheASIC and/or sensor processor may be integrated into the sensor assemblyor be separated from the sensors by some physical or mechanicaldistance. In some embodiments, the ASIC and/or sensor processor maycommunicate data and commands using Serial-Peripheral-Interface (SPI)and/or an I2C serial digital communications interfaces. And in someembodiments, the sensor processor and/or primary and secondary sensorassembly may be integrated into a single printed circuit board (“sensorPCB”), or may be separated, depending upon specific mechanicalrequirements, and different system application needs. In this example, asensor comprises a single PCB having the sensor processors and ASICs.

In operation, a sensor processor will communicate processed sensor datawith one or more transmitters. For example, the processor may transmitthe sensor data to a main transmitter's Command-and-Control-Unit (CCU),using SPI. In some implementations, the sensor PCB-to-CCU communicationis performed only as often as required to optimize safe and effectiveoperation of the system, but while maintaining optimal resource (e.g.,power, memory, processing) efficiency.

i. Exemplary Calibration Operation

At a first time sample (e.g., time=0 (T0)), the system is powered up orinitialized for the first time or after memory is purged. A self-test isperformed determine whether the components are operational at a lowlevel of power. A secondary test is performed, which checks for networkconnectivity and (assuming an internet connection is found) softwareupdates. Assuming all systems are operational and firmware isup-to-date, the sensor PCB will perform a self-calibration that willcomplete in less than 2 seconds. The sensor PCB will be fully functionaland can complete calibration, even without network connectivity. Networkconnectivity will not be a precursor for safe and effective operation.

In some implementations, self-calibration may commence upon startup andsubsequently, when several criteria are simultaneously met. As anexample, for a primary sensor operating on thermal-based technology, thesensor will determine whether no thermal objects of interest (TOoI) arepresent in the field of view and that no power receivers are present inthe field of transmission; and the presence of power receivers isdetected through the CCU. For secondary sensors in this exemplaryembodiment, the startup criteria requires the transmitter to bestationary, with no TOoI present nor movement detected within thetransmission field, for a minimum amount of time necessary to performself-calibration.

Next, primary sensor self-calibration processes and gain control isstarted when nothing in the transmission field is detected that could bedetermined to be a TOoI. In other words, the sensors must not detect anyobject with a thermal and/or shape profile matching likely presence of aliving being, including (but not limited to) humans of any age and petsfree to roam the transmission field. The primary sensor may then performself-calibration processes, according to the technology implemented.

In an exemplary method of the primary sensor's self-calibration, theprimary sensor shall self-calibrate by use of an isothermal shutter,which, in operation, momentarily covers the lens or input to a thermalcamera array of the sensor. An independent, previously calibratedtemperature sensor (e.g., NTC or PTC thermistor, 2 or 4-contact RTD, athermocouple or other accurate temperature-sensing device) is integratedwith the primary sensor assembly and is as close to isothermal with thelens or input shutter device as possible. While the isothermal shutterinhibits the primary sensor input, the external temperature-sensingdevice and the entire pixel array of the thermal camera is read. Theanalog sensor value for each thermal pixel is analyzed and assigned to(calibrated to) the temperature reading of the external(shutter-isothermal) temperature sensing device. This analog to digital,thermal-auto-calibration may be a function of the primary sensor ASIC,and may require or not require an external input or interaction from thesensor processor/controller. When the shutter is opened again (theprimary sensor is unblocked), the readings from each pixel in the largearray of thermal pixels in the primary sensor will be assigned anaccurate, absolute temperature reading. These values will be analyzed inall subsequent thermal array collections (thermal frames) by the sensorprocessor to determine the position of any TOoI within the transmissionfield or nearby room/space.

The secondary sensor's calibration may occur simultaneous or within 1second of primary sensor calibration, provided no scene movement or TOoIis detected by the primary sensor. The operation of ultrasonic distanceand other proximity sensors is to transmit a small number of quicktransmit pulses into the room or space, and receive reflections backfrom all objects in the room. The transmit pattern will typically occurfor less than 1/1000 of a second (<1 ms), and the reflections may besensed for tens of milliseconds, allowing for depth range as well assensing and bounding of the area of interest (which includes the area ofwireless power transmission). The reflections gathered by each secondarysensor, under these conditions (i.e., no TOoI and no movement detected)will form the reference frame, or the background reflection patternagainst which future secondary sensor reception frames will be measured.

ii. Normal Operation:

After the primary sensor is calibrated, objects like a thermal objectsof interest (TOoI) can be sensed and identified by the sensor processor.When a TOoI is sensed, a pair of ultrasonic or proximity sensors willsend standard transmit pulses out and receive reflection patterns back.The reflection patterns give the distance and angle to the TOoI, basedupon mathematical (e.g., trigonometric) sensor analysis and processing.The mathematics and reflection processing will be used to detect andtrack the living bodies (e.g., humans, animals) within the field ofpower transmission; and in some embodiments, primary sensor operationand detection may be done completely without the CCU.

In some cases, when the CCU detects the presence of a power receiver,the CCU may request for the coordinates of living bodies (TOoI) in X, Y,Z or X, Y, and directional angle from the transmitter, which the sensorPCB will report back almost immediately. From the knowledge of thelocation of any receivers and/or the locations of any living bodies(e.g., an end user) in the room, the power waves used to generate apocket of energy may be controlled, not just in space, but in poweroutput as well, because the CCU shall have the power to modulate, scale,and control the power waves transmitted to a pocket of energy around areceiver. Advantageously, this system enables optimal powertransmission, simultaneous with maximum compliance and safety, with zeroactive interaction or thought from the end user.

A receiver may receive maximum power for a pocket of energy when thesystem detects that a living object is outside of a periphery of thatpocket of energy in the transmission field. If the pocket of energy isvery close to the living body, then the power transmission will beautomatically throttled, by adjusting the power waves, to be within FCCcompliance and safety specifications.

If there is a receiver receiving wireless power, but no TOoI (i.e.,living bodies) are detected in the transmission field, and anyobstruction quickly moves across the field of view (potentially veryclose to the transmitter), then the sensor and sensor processor shallsense and respond fast enough to send an interrupt signal to the CCU ofthe transmitter, which will immediately and temporarily disable powertransmission until such time as the area of the receiver is free of theobstruction and the power transmission can be resumed. For example, atransmitter can have a sensor that detects that a TOoI is in closeproximity to the transmitter, whereby the transmitter disables powertransmission until the TOoI is no longer in a transmission path betweenthe transmitter and a receiver. In another example, the transmitter canhave a sensor that detects that a TOoI is in close proximity to thetransmitter, whereby the transmitter disables power transmission untilthe TOoI is no longer in proximity to the transmitter.

IV. Generating Power Waves & Forming Pockets of Energy

In a wireless charging system, transmitters are devices that comprise,or are otherwise associated with, various components and circuitsresponsible for, e.g., generating and transmitting power waves, formingpockets of energy at locations in a transmission field, monitoring theconditions of the transmission field, and generating null spaces whereneeded. A transmitter may generate and transmit power waves forpocket-forming and/or null steering based on the one or more parameters.The parameters may be determined by a transmitter processor, sensorprocessor, or other processor providing instructions to the transmitter,based on data received from the one or more receivers, sensors internalto the transmitter, and/or sensors external to the transmitter. Withregard to the sensors of the system, it should be appreciated that aninternal sensor may be an integral component of the transmitter, orreceiver. It should also be appreciated that an external sensor may be asensor that is placed within the working area of a transmitter, and maybe in wired or wireless communication with one or more transmitters ofthe system.

Transmitters may wirelessly transmit power waves having certain physicalwaveform characteristics, which are particular to the particularwaveform technology implemented. The power waves may be transmitted toreceivers within a transmission field of the transmitters in form of anyphysical media capable of propagating through space and being convertedinto useable electrical energy for charging the one or more electronicdevices. The examples of the physical media may include radio frequency(RF) waves, infrared, acoustics, electromagnetic fields, and ultrasound.The power transmission signals may include any radio signal, having anyfrequency or wavelength. It should be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that the wireless charging techniques are not limited to RF wavetransmission techniques, but may include alternative or additionaltechniques for transmitting energy to the one or more receivers.

A. Components of a System Generating and Using Power Waves

FIG. 10 illustrates generation of pocket of energy to power one or moreelectronic devices in a wireless power transmission system, according toan exemplary embodiment.

The wireless power transmission system 1000 comprises a transmitter 1002that transmits the one or more power transmission waveforms 1004 fromthe antenna array 1006 to power the one or more electronic devices suchas a mobile phone 1008 and a laptop 1010. Non-limiting examples of oneor more electronic devices may include laptops, mobile phones,smartphones, tablets, music players, toys, batteries, flashlights,lamps, electronic watches, cameras, gaming consoles, appliances, and GPSdevices among other types of electrical devices.

The examples of the power waves may include microwaves, radio waves, andultrasound waves. The power waves 1004 are controlled through themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1002 to form the pocket of energy 1012in locations where the pocket of energy 1012 is intended. In theillustrative embodiment, the pocket of energy 1012 is intended in thelocations of the one or more electronic devices 1008 and 1010. Thetransmitter 1002 is further configured to transmit the power waves 1002that may converge in three-dimensional space to create the one or morenull spaces in the one or more locations where transmitted power wavescancel each other out substantially.

The microprocessor of the transmitter 1002 is further configured to,based on one or more parameters, select the power transmission waveform,select the output frequency of the power transmission waveforms, theshape of the one or more antenna arrays 1006, and the spacing of the oneor more antennas in at least one antenna array 1006 to form the pocketof energy at the targeted location to power the one or more electronicdevices 1008, 1010. The microprocessor of the transmitter 1002 isfurther configured to, based on the one or more parameters, select theoutput frequency of the power waves, the shape of the one or moreantenna arrays 1006, and the spacing of the one or more antennas in atleast one antenna array 1006 to form the one or more null spaces at theone or more locations within the transmission field of the transmitter1002. The pockets of energy are formed where the power waves 1002accumulate to form a three-dimensional field of energy, around which oneor more corresponding transmission null in a particular physicallocation may be generated by the transmitter 1002.

The antennas of the antenna array 1006 of the transmitter 1002 thattransmit the power waves may operate in a single array, a pair array, aquad array, or any other arrangement that may be selected in accordancewith the one or more parameters by the microprocessor of the transmitter1002. In the illustrative embodiment, the antennas of the antenna array1006 of the transmitter 1002 are operable as the single array.

The receiver may communicate with the transmitter 1002 in order toindicate its position with respect to the transmitter 1002. Thecommunications component may enable receiver to communicate with thetransmitter 1002 by transmitting communication signals over a wirelessprotocol. The wireless protocol can be selected from a group consistingof Bluetooth®, BLE, Wi-Fi, NFC, or the like. The communicationscomponent may then be used to transfer information, such as anidentifier for the one or more electronic devices 1008, 1010, as well asbattery level information of the one or more electronic devices 1008,1010, geographic location data of the one or more electronic devices1008, 1010, or other information that may be of use for the transmitter1002 in determining when to send power to receiver, as well as thelocation to deliver power waves 1002 creating the pockets of energy1012. The receiver may then utilize power waves 1002 emitted by thetransmitter 1002 to establish the pocket of energy 1012, for charging orpowering the one or more electronic devices 1008, 1010. The receiver maycomprise circuitry for converting the power waves 1002 into electricalenergy that may be provided to the one or more electronic devices 1008,1010. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, there can bemultiple transmitters and/or multiple antenna arrays for poweringvarious electronic equipment for example, may include smartphones,tablets, music players, toys, and other items.

In some embodiments, the one or more electronic devices 1008, 1010 maybe distinct from the receiver associated with the one or more electronicdevices 1008, 1010. In such embodiments, the one or more electronicdevices 1008, 1010 may be connected to the receiver over a wire thatconveys converted electrical energy from the receiver to the one or moreelectronic devices 1008, 1010.

After receiving the communication from the receiver by the transmitter1002, the transmitter 1002 identifies and locates the receiver. A pathis established, through which the transmitter 1002 may know the gain andphases of the communication signals coming from the receiver. Inaddition to the communication signals from the receiver, the transmitter1002 receives information/data from the one or more internal sensors,the one or more external sensors, and heat mapping data about thelocation of the receiver and the location of the one or more objectssuch as human beings and animals. Based on the all the information anddata received from the internal and external sensors, the heatingmapping data, and the communication signals from the receiver, themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1002 analyzes the information anddata, and then determines the one or more parameters that will act asthe inputs in determining the selections require to produce the pocketof energy 1012 at the targeted locations. After the determination of theone or more parameters, the transmitter 1002 then selects the type ofpower transmission wave 1002 to be transmitted, and the output frequencyof power transmission wave 1002, to generate the pockets of energy 1012at the targeted locations within the transmission field of thetransmitter 1002. In another embodiment, in addition to selecting thetype of power transmission wave 1002, and determining the outputfrequency of power transmission wave 1002, the transmitter 1002, mayalso select a subset of antennas from a fixed physical shape of the oneor more antenna arrays 1006 that corresponds to a desired spacing ofantennas, which will be used to generate the pockets of energy 1012 atthe targeted locations within the transmission field of the transmitter1002. After the selection of the output frequency of power waves 1002,shape of one or more antenna arrays 1006, and spacing of one or moreantennas in each of the one or more antenna array 1006, the antennas ofthe transmitter 1002 may start to transmit the power waves 1002 that mayconverge in three-dimensional space. These power waves 1002 may also beproduced by using an external power source and a local oscillator chipusing a piezoelectric material. The power waves 1002 are constantlycontrolled by the microprocessor of the transmitter 1002, which may alsoinclude a proprietary chip for adjusting phase and/or relativemagnitudes of power waves 1002. The phase, gain, amplitude, frequency,and other waveform features of the power waves 1002 are determined basedon the one or more parameters, and may serve as one of the inputs forthe antennas to form the pocket of energy 1012.

FIG. 11 illustrates generation of pocket of energy in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

As illustrated in the FIG. 11, the transmitter 1102 generates the powerwaves 1104 that form the pocket of energy 1106 at the receiver. Asdiscussed earlier, the microprocessor of the transmitter 1106 willdetermine the one or more parameters based on all the information anddata received from the internal and external sensors, the heatingmapping data, and the communication signals from the receiver. The oneor more parameters will then be used as the input by the microprocessorof the transmitter 1102 to select the power waves 1104 from a list ofone or more waveforms and then generate the power waves 1104 by thewaveform generator at the desired output frequency. The phase, gain,amplitude, frequency, and other waveform features of the power waves1104 are also determined based on the one or more parameters by themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1102. The one or more parameters willalso be used as the input by the microprocessor of the transmitter 1102to select a subset of antenna arrays from the total number of theantenna arrays, and the subset of antennas from total number of antennasin the selected subset of the antenna arrays for transmitting the powerwaves 1104 to form the pocket of energy 1106.

Based on the one or more parameters, the microprocessor of thetransmitter 1102 will select the antenna array, select the shape of theselected antenna array, select the antennas to be used in the selectedantenna array, select the waveform to be generated by the waveformgenerator for transmission by the selected antennas of the selectedantenna array, and lastly the output frequency of the selected waveformto be transmitted by the selected antennas of the selected antennaarrays. The microprocessor of the transmitter 1102 may further selectthe transmission timing of the selected waveform from the selectedantennas of the selected antenna array based on the one or moreparameters. In one embodiment, the microprocessor of the transmitter1102, continuously receives the new information and data from theinternal and external sensors, the heating mapping data, and thecommunication signals from the receiver; and based on the newly receivedinformation and data, the microprocessor of the transmitter 1102 maygenerate a new set of the one or more parameters. The new set of the oneor more parameters are then utilized by the microprocessor of thetransmitter 1102 to manipulate the frequency of the transmitted powerwaves 1104, as well as selection of new set of antenna array andantennas for the transmission of new power waves 1104. For example, asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transmitter 1102 can continuously scansegments of the transmission field to identify a new location of thereceiver, and as shown in FIG. 13, the transmitter 1102 can adjustdirection of an antenna power wave transmission, a selection of antennasin the antenna array (e.g., shape of the antenna array, spacing ofantennas), and output frequency based on the new parameters.

In FIG. 11, a safe zone 1108 may be an area proximate to the transmitter1102 that is within such proximity to the antenna array that the powerwaves 1104 cannot be “canceled-out” using null steering, and thus theradiated energy of the power waves 1104 cannot be nullified by thetransmitter 1102. In some implementations, the energy generated by thepower waves 1104 from the transmitter 1102 is not suitable for objectssuch as human beings and animals. As such, the safe zone 1108 representsa location within the transmission field where the transmitter 1102automatically drops the amount of energy produced or halts transmissionof power waves 1104 altogether, particularly if a sensor identifies ahuman being or sensitive object within the safe zone.

FIG. 12 illustrates a graphical representation of formation of pocket ofenergy in a wireless power transmission system, according to anexemplary embodiment. As illustrated in the FIG. 12, a graphicalrepresentation between the distance and decibel milliwatts (dBm) isshown. The pocket of energy is formed at 36 dBm and 5 feet. Thetransmitter antennas transmit the power transmission signals such thatthe power transmission signals converge in this three-dimensional spacearound the receiver, which is located at the 5 feet distance. Theresulting field around the receiver forms the pocket of energy at 36 dBmfrom which the receiver may harvest electrical energy. As illustrated,the amount of energy contained in the power waves quickly diminishesbeyond the intended location for the pocket of energy, in order to avoidcreating unwanted energy in other areas nearby the location of thepocket of energy. In the present figure, the pocket of energy isintended to be generated at a distance of five feet, and therefore thepower transmission signals diminish at any distance beyond five feet.FIG. 12 shows two curves of how power waves die down using antennaarrays of equally spaced antennas, versus antenna arrays that may haveunequal antenna spacing and may be placed in a non-planar antenna array.In the case of unequal antenna spacing and non-planar antennas, thepower level quickly diminishes beyond the intended location of thepocket of energy.

FIG. 13 illustrates a method of formation of pocket of energy for one ormore devices in a wireless power transmission system, according to anexemplary embodiment.

In a first step 1302, a transmitter (TX) receives sensor data collectedand produced from one or more sensors. In some cases, the transmitterestablishes a connection with a receiver (RX), according to the wirelessprotocol used for communications between a communications component ofthe transmitter and a communications component of the receiver. That is,a communications component of the transmitter and a communicationscomponent of the receiver may communicate data with one another using awireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, NFC, ZigBee)capable of transmitting information between processors of electricaldevices, such as a transmitter processor and a receiver processor. Forexample, the transmitter may scan for a receiver's broadcasting signalsor vice-versa, or a receiver may transmit a signal to the transmitter.The signal may announce the receiver's presence to the transmitter, orthe transmitter's presence to the receiver, and may trigger anassociation between the transmitter and the receiver. Once thetransmitter identifies the receiver, the transmitter may establish theconnection associated in the transmitter with the receiver, allowing thetransmitter and receiver to communicate signals. The transmitter maythen command that the receiver begins transmitting data. The receivermeasures the voltage among other metrics and may transmit the voltagesample measurement back to the transmitter. The transmitter furtherreceives the information and data from the one or more internal sensors,the one or more external sensors, and the heat mapping data related tothe location of the receiver, the information about the one or moreelectronic devices, and the one or more objects.

In a next step 1304, the transmitter may determine the one or moreparameters. In one embodiment, the microprocessor of the transmitter mayexecute one or more software modules in order to analyze the receiveddata and information, and based on the analysis identify the one or moreparameters. The one or more parameters act as an input to themicroprocessor to make the necessary selections to form the pocket ofenergy at one or more targeted locations.

In a next step 1306, the transmitter may execute one or more softwaremodules based on the one or more parameters to select a waveform to begenerated by the waveform generator, select the output frequency of thewaveform, a subset of antennas from a fixed physical shape of the one ormore antenna arrays that correspond to a desired spacing of antennas toform the pocket of energy at the targeted location of the one or morereceivers.

In one embodiment, the transmitter algorithms based on the one or moreparameters may vary production and transmission of power transmissionsignals by the transmitter's antennas to optimize the pockets of energyaround the receiver. For example, the transmitter may adjust the phaseat which the transmitter's antenna transmits the power transmissionsignals, until that power received by the receiver indicates aneffectively established pocket of energy around the receiver. When anoptimal configuration for the antennas is identified, memory of thetransmitter may store the configurations to keep the transmitterbroadcasting at that highest level.

In one embodiment, the algorithms of the transmitter based on the one ormore parameters may determine when it is necessary to adjust the powertransmission signals and may also vary the configuration of the transmitantennas. For example, the transmitter may determine the power receivedat a receiver is less than maximal, based on the one or more parameters.The transmitter may then adjust the phase of the power transmissionsignals, but may also simultaneously continues to generate the new oneor more parameters based on the information and data being reported backfrom receiver and the sensor devices.

In one embodiment, when the transmitter receives the information anddata from the receiver and sensor devices regarding a presence of a newreceiver, the transmitter will generate new one or more parameters, andbased on the new one or more parameters, the transmitter may adjust oneor more antennas in the transmitter's antenna array. In someembodiments, the transmitter may identify a subset of antennas toservice the new receiver, thereby parsing the array into subsets ofarrays. In some embodiments, the entire antenna array may service theoriginal receiver for a given period of time, and then the entire arraymay service the new receiver. The automated processes are performed bythe transmitter to select a subset of arrays to service the newreceiver. In one example, the transmitter's array may be split in half,forming two subsets. As a result, half of the antennas may be configuredto transmit power transmission signals to the original receiver, andhalf of the antennas may be configured for the new receiver.

In the next step 1308, the transmitter will generate the pocket ofenergy for the one or more receivers. The one or more receivers may beelectrically connected to the electronic device like a smart phone. Thetransmitter may continue to alternate between receivers and scanning fornew receivers at a predetermined interval and thereby generating the newone or more parameters. As each new receiver is detected, the new one ormore parameters are generated, and based on the new one or moreparameters, the transmitter may establish a connection and begintransmitting power transmission signals, accordingly.

B. Waveforms for Power Waves & Manipulating Waveforms

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrates a waveform to form a pocket of energy in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The waveforms or the power waves 1402, 1404 are produced bythe transmitter 1406 and transmitted by the one or more antennas of thetransmitter 1406 directed to the receiver 1408 to form the pocket ofenergy at the desired location.

The transmitter 1406 receives a communication signal. In one embodiment,the transmitter 1406 may receive the communication signal from a sensordevice. The sensor device may comprise one or more internal sensorsand/or one or more external sensors. The one or more internal sensorsare integral components of the transmitter 1406. The one or moreexternal sensors are located outside the transmitter 1406. The one ormore external sensors may be formed as an integral component of thereceiver 1408. In another example, the one or more external sensors maybe located in an operating area of the wireless communication system ofthe present disclosure. In yet another example, one or more externalsensors may be fixed on the one or more electrical devices to becharged. In another embodiment, the transmitter 1406 may receive thecommunication signal directly from the receiver 1408. The microprocessorof the transmitter 1406 processes the communication signal or theinformation sent by the receiver 1408 through a communications componentfor determining optimum times and locations for forming the pocket ofenergy. The communications component and the sensor device may be usedto transfer information such as an identifier for the device or user,battery level, location or other such information. Other communicationscomponents may be possible which may include radar, infrared cameras orsound devices for sonic triangulation for determining the device'sposition and the or more objects position. The transmitter 1406 mayfurther generate a transmission signal based on the receivedcommunication signal. The transmitter 1406 generates the transmissionsignal according to an operational mode determined by themicroprocessor. The operation mode reflects the transmission frequencydetermined by the microprocessor of the transmitter 1406. In oneembodiment, a user manually sets the operational mode using a userinterface associated with the microprocessor of the transmitter 1406. Inanother embodiment, the operational mode is automatically set by themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1406, based on received information inthe communication signal.

Once transmitter 1406 identifies and locates receiver 1408 based on theinformation/data contained in the communication signal, a path isestablished. The transmitter 1406 may start to transmit power waves thatconverge in a three dimensional space, by using the one or more antennasof at least one antenna array of the one or more antenna arrays.

In an embodiment, the operation mode (operating frequency) of thetransmitter 1406 is determined based on the communication signalreceived by the transmitter 1406 from the sensor device or thecommunication component. The microprocessor of the transmitter 1406 thenevaluates the communication signal, and based on the results of thecommunication signal, the transmitter 1406 initiates the generation ofthe waveforms (of one or more types) to be transmitted by the one ormore antennas of each of the one or more antenna arrays. In one example,if the information/data received by the sensor device or thecommunication component comprises data indicating a first location ofthe receiver 1408 (e.g., close to the transmitter 1406), then a lowpower waveform generator may be used. In the continuous wave mode, thewaveforms can have durations as long as milliseconds. In anotherexample, if the information/data received by the sensor device or thecommunication component comprises data indicating a second location ofthe receiver 1408 (e.g., far from the transmitter 1406), then high powerpulses may be required to transmit more energy to the receiver, so thetransmitter uses a high power path (a pulsed waveform generator). Eachof these waveforms is typically stored in a database to be used as asuite of possible transmitted waveforms as conditions require. In otherwords, based on information contained in the communication signalreceived from the sensor device or the communication component, thetransmitter 1406 then generates the desired type of waveforms fortransmission by the one or more antennas and further selects theoperating frequency and amplitude of the generated waveforms. Asdiscussed above, the transmitter 1406, using a waveform generator, orany arbitrary waveform generator circuit, may produce both pulse andcontinuous waveforms. In another embodiment, these RF waves may also beproduced by using an external power source and a local oscillator chipusing a piezoelectric material. The RF waves may be controlled by anRFIC circuit, which may include a proprietary chip for adjusting phaseand/or relative magnitudes of RF signals that may serve as inputs forone or more antennas to form pocket forming. The pocket forming may takeadvantage of interference to change the directionality of the one ormore antennas where one form of the interference generates the pocket ofenergy and another form of the interference generates the null space.The receiver 1408 may then utilize the pocket of energy produced bypocket forming for charging or powering the electronic devices andtherefore effectively providing wireless power transmission.

The transmitter 1406 comprises waveform generation components forgenerating waveforms that are utilized in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The transmitter 1406 includes a housing. The housing can bemade of any material that may allow for signal or wave transmissionand/or reception. The housing may include the one or moremicroprocessors, and the power source. In an embodiment, severaltransmitters may be managed by a single base station and a singlemicroprocessor. Such capability may allow the location of transmittersin a variety of strategic positions, such as ceiling, walls, or thelike.

The housing of the transmitter 1406 comprises the one or more antennasarrays. Each of the one or more antenna arrays comprises the one or moreantennas. The one or more antennas may include antenna types foroperating in frequency bands, such as roughly 900 MHz to about 100 GHzor other such frequency band, such as about 1 GHz, 5.8 GHz, 24 GHz, 60GHz, and 72 GHz. In one embodiment, the antenna may be directional andinclude flat antennas, patch antennas, dipole antennas, and any otherantenna for wireless power transmission. The antenna types may include,for example, patch antennas with heights from about ⅛ inch to about 6inches and widths from about ⅛ inch to about 6 inches. The shape andorientation of antenna may vary in dependency of the desired features ofthe transmitter 1406; the orientation may be flat in X-axis, Y-axis, andZ-axis, as well as various orientation types and combinations inthree-dimensional arrangements. The antenna materials may include anymaterial that may allow RF signal transmission with high efficiency andgood heat dissipation. The number of antennas may vary in relation withthe desired range and power transmission capability of the transmitter1406. In addition, the antenna may have at least one polarization or aselection of polarizations. Such polarization may include verticalpolarization, horizontal polarization, circularly polarized, left handpolarized, right hand polarized, or a combination of polarizations. Theselection of polarizations may vary in dependency of the transmitter1406 characteristics. In addition, the antenna may be located in varioussurfaces of the transmitter 1406. The antenna may operate in singlearray, pair array, quad array and any other arrangement that may bedesigned in accordance with the one or more parameters.

The housing of the transmitter 1406 further comprises one or moreprinted circuit boards (PCB), one or more RF integrated circuits (RFIC),one or more waveform generators, and one or more microprocessors.

The transmitter 1406 may include a plurality of PCB layers, which mayinclude antennas, and/or RFICs for providing greater control overforming the pockets of energy based on the one or more parameters. PCBsmay be single sided, double sided, and/or multi-layer. The multiple PCBlayers may increase the range and the amount of power that could betransferred by the transmitter. The PCB layers may be connected to asingle microprocessor and/or to dedicated microprocessors. In someimplementations, the transmitter 1406 including a plurality of PCBlayers inside it may include antenna for providing greater control overforming the pockets of energy and may increase the response fortargeting receivers based on the one or more parameters. Furthermore,range of wireless power transmission may be increased by thetransmitter. The multiple PCB layers may increase the range and theamount of power waves that could be transferred and/or broadcastedwirelessly by transmitter 1406 due the higher density of antenna. ThePCB layers may be connected to a single microcontroller and/or todedicated microcontroller for each antenna.

The transmitter 1406 may include a RFIC that may receive the RF wavesfrom the microprocessor, and split the RF waves into multiple outputs,each output linked to an antenna. In one implementation, each RFIC maybe connected to four antennas. In other implementations, each RFIC maybe connected to multiple antennas. The RFIC may include a plurality ofRF circuits that may include digital and/or analog components, such as,amplifiers, capacitors, oscillators, piezoelectric crystals or the like.The RFIC control features of the antenna, such as gain and/or phase forpocket forming. In other implementations of the transmitter 1406, thephase and the amplitude of the transmitted power waves from each antennamay be regulated by the corresponding RFIC in order to generate thedesired pocket of energy and null steering based on the one or moreparameters. The RFIC and the antenna may operate in any arrangement thatmay be designed in accordance with the desired application. For example,the transmitter 1406 may include the antenna and the RFIC in a flatarrangement. A subset of and/or any number of antennas may be connectedto a single RFIC based on the one or more parameters.

The microprocessor comprises an ARM processor and/or DSP. The ARM maycomprise one or more microprocessors based on a reduced instruction setcomputing (RISC). The DSP may be a signal processing chip configured toprovide a mathematical manipulation of an communications signal, tomodify or improve the communications signal in some way, where thecommunications signal can be characterized by the representation ofdiscrete time, discrete frequency, and/or other discrete domain signalsby a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals.The DSP may measure, filter, and/or compress continuous real-worldanalog signals. The first step may be conversion of the signal from ananalog to a digital form, by sampling and then digitizing it using ananalog-to-digital converter (ADC), which may convert the analog signalinto a stream of discrete digital values. The microprocessor may alsorun Linux and/or any other operating system. The microprocessor may alsobe connected to Wi-Fi in order to provide information through a network.Furthermore, the microprocessor may transmit power waves that convergeto form multiple pockets of energy for multiple receivers. Thetransmitter may allow distance discrimination of the wireless powertransmission. In addition, the microprocessor may manage and controlcommunication protocols and signals by controlling the communicationcomponent.

The waveform generation components of the transmitter 1406 furthercomprises the waveform generator, the Digital to Analog (D/A) convertor,the power amplifier, and the one or more filters. The waveform generatorof the transmitter 1406 is typically programmed to produce waveformswith a specified amount of noise, interference, frequency offset, andfrequency drift. The waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 isconfigured to generate multiple versions of the waveform, one for eachantenna at the transmitter based on the one or more parameters. In oneimplementation, the waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 producesthe waveforms to be transmitted by the individual elements of theantenna array. A different wave signal is produced by the waveformgenerator of the transmitter 1406 for each of the one or more antennas.Each of these signals is then passed through the D/A converter and theone or more filters. The resulting analog signals are each amplified bya power amplifier and then sent to a corresponding antenna of the one ormore antennas. A description of a waveform generator may be found incommonly-assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 13/891,445, entitled“Transmitters for Wireless power Transmission,” filed Dec. 27, 2014 andcommonly-assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 14/584,364, entitled“Enhanced Transmitter for Wireless Power Transmission,” filed Dec. 29,2014, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, intheir entirety.

In one example, assuming that the transmitted signals are to be in theform of cosine waveforms determined based on the one or more parameters,the waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 first produces a seriesof phase angles corresponding to the phase of the waveform to betransmitted. The series of phase angles produced by the waveformgenerator of the transmitter 1406 may or may not be common to all theantennas. In the present example, the series of phase angles produced bythe waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 is common to all theantennas. The waveform phase angles may also be adjusted to steer thewaveform by adding a time delay and a phase adjustment for each antenna.A series of adjusted phase angles is thus produced for each antenna. Asignal is then produced for each antenna by applying a cosine functionto the adjusted phase angles. This may be accomplished using a CosineLook-up Table. Each cosine wave is then loaded and read out to the D/Aconverters. The waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 produces aseries of phase angles corresponding to the phase of the signal to betransmitted. These phase angles are common to each antenna in theantenna array. The phase angle selection by the waveform generator ofthe transmitter 1406 can be implemented by a Direct Digital Synthesizer(DDS) or similar device. The waveform phase angles are then worked uponto add a time delay and a phase adjustment for each antenna. The timedelay allows uniform pointing over a wide bandwidth, and the phaseadjustment compensates for the time delay quantization at the centerfrequency. In order to steer the transmitted wave, each antenna may alsoneed to have a particular phase angle added to the common waveform. Thewaveform generator of the transmitter 1406 is configured to perform allof the above-mentioned functions on the waveform based on the input ofthe one or more parameters.

The waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 is further configured togenerate the one or more power waves having the one or morecharacteristics according to the one or more transmission parameters.The one or more power waves are non-continuous waves having a frequencyand amplitude that may be increased and decreased based on one or moreupdates to the one or more transmission parameters corresponding to theone or more characteristics of the one or more power waves. In oneexample, the non-continuous power waveform may be a chirp waveform. Thechirp waveforms are typically used since the frequency of the waveformis changing linearly or logarithmically in time and thereby sweeps thefrequency band without creating concentrated energy in one particularfrequency, which may not be desirable. Of course, other time dependencesof the frequencies can be used, depending on the application and onwhich frequency domain waveform may be currently needed. In other words,the chirp waveform is a frequency modulated pulse or signal where themodulated frequency typically linearly increases from an initialfrequency over a finite time equaling a pulse width, for example, from−50 MHz to +50 MHz, providing a 100 MHz bandwidth, over the pulse width,for example, 10 microseconds, and modulating an intermediate centerfrequency, for example, 160 MHz. This modulated waveform is typicallystepped up and may be mixed to a higher RF carrier prior to transmissionby the one or more antennas of the transmitter, such as 900 MHz to 100GHz. The chirp waveforms may be generated by various other hardwaremeans. One of the methods to produce chirp waveforms may include a groupof lumped circuit elements. For example, the group of lumped circuitelements may include a group of the circuits that generate a respectivegroup of staggered delay signals which are summed together and whichprovide the chirp waveforms. Another method of producing a chirpwaveform may comprise a metalized crystalline device that is subjectedto the high impulse signal to produce the linear frequency modulatedchirp waveform. In yet another example method of producing chirpwaveform, Direct Digital Synthesis systems may be employed. The DDSmethods of generating the chirp waveform typically employ programmedmemories having stored sinusoidal values that are typically fed into theD/A converter, such that as the digital values are cycled into the D/Aconverter at an increasing rate for a certain pulse width time, theanalog converter produces the chirp waveforms through that pulse width.

In another embodiment, a chirp sub pulse waveform may be generated andmixed to a desired center intermediate frequency based on the one ormore parameters. A plurality of chirp sub pulses waveforms arecontiguously generated and respectively mixed with intermediatefrequencies of a plurality of intermediate frequencies. This contiguousmixed chirp waveform has an extended pulse width equaling the sum of thepulse widths of all of the chirp sub pulse waveforms. In the situation,where all of the chirp sub pulse waveforms have the same pulse width,the extended pulse width of the contiguous chirp pulse waveform will beequal to the number of sub pulses multiplied by the pulse width of eachsub pulse.

In yet another embodiment, a relatively high frequency carrier signalmay be modulated with the data to produce the waveform to drive one ormore antennas based on the one or more parameters. One type ofmodulation is angle modulation, which involves modulating the angle ofthe carrier signal. The angle modulation may involve modulating thefrequency of the carrier signal or modulating the phase of the carriersignal. The waveform forming process includes generating an anglemodulated wave signal and progressively filtering the angle modulatedwave signal in the waveform generator of the transmitter using aplurality of low pass filters to produce a modulated sinusoidal waveformto drive the one or more antennas. The technique includes programmingthe transmitter to tune a corner frequency of the filtering to afrequency within a range of frequencies selectable using the programmingby the microprocessor of the transmitter 1406.

In order to generate the pocket of energy, the transmitter 1406 using awaveform generator produces one or more power waves having a very lowcorrelation with itself. In one example, a chirp wave is being used. Thechirp wave has a very low correlation with itself. In one embodiment,the waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 produces a same chirpwaveform for all of the one or more antennas. In another embodiment, thewaveform generator of the transmitter 1406 produces a different chirpwaveform for each of the one or more antennas. In yet anotherembodiment, the waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 produces afirst chirp waveform for a first set of antennas in the one or moreantennas and a second chirp waveform for a second or remaining set ofantennas in the one or more antennas. In yet another embodiment, thewaveform generator of the transmitter 1406 may include one or more subwaveform generators wherein a first sub waveform generator is configuredto produce a first chirp waveform for a first antenna array in the oneor more antenna arrays and a second sub waveform generator is configuredto produce a second chirp waveform for a second antenna array in the oneor more antenna arrays and so on.

The waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 described above producesthe chirp waveform. The chirp waveform may be generated as a linearchirp waveform and as a non-linear chirp waveform. The nonlinear chirpwaveform is selected from the group consisting of exponential,logarithmic, and arbitrarily formulated chirp waveform. The waveformgenerator of the transmitter 1406 produces the chirp waveform based onone or more parameters. The one or more parameters are identified by themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1406 based on the information receivedin the communication signal from the sensor devices and/or thecommunication component. The output frequency of the chirp wavesgenerated by the waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 is alsodetermined based on the one or more parameters. Based on the one or moreparameters, the waveform generator of the transmitter 1406 may producemultiple chirp waveforms for multiple antennas wherein each of the chirpwaveform has a unique output frequency and amplitude. The transmitter1406 is further configured to increase, based on the one or moreparameters, the frequency and the amplitude of the transmitted chirpwaves in relation to the change in time and distance. The transmitter1406 is further configured to decrease, based on the one or moreparameters, the frequency and the amplitude of the transmitted one ormore power waves in relation to change in time and distance. In oneexample, the frequency of the chirp waveforms transmitted by thetransmitter 1406 is randomly changed between 1 to 1000 times per second.The frequency may be increased at Nth second, and then the frequency maybe decreased at N+2th second. In another embodiment, the frequency ofthe one or more power waves transmitted by the one or more antennas ofthe transmitter is varied based on maximum permissible exposure level(MPE) of one or more objects.

In the illustrated figures, a first waveform generator of thetransmitter 1406 generate a first waveform 1402 having a frequency f1based on a first set of one or more parameters determined by themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1406. The microprocessor of thetransmitter 1406 continually receives new data and new information fromthe sensor devices and the receivers, and based on the new data and thenew information, the microprocessor of the transmitter 1406 may generatea second set of one or more parameters. The second set of the one ormore parameters are different from the first set of the one or moreparameters. Based on the second set of the one or more parameters, themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1406 may provide instructions to thefirst waveform generator to change (increase/decrease) the frequency f1of the transmitted waveform. In another embodiment, based on the secondset of the one or more parameters, the microprocessor of the transmitter1406 may provide instructions to the first waveform generator togenerate a new waveform 1404 having a frequency f2. In yet anotherembodiment, based on the second set of one or more parameters, themicroprocessor of the transmitter 1406 may use a new waveform generatorother than the first waveform generator to generate a new waveform 1404having a frequency f2.

FIG. 15 illustrates a method to generate a waveform in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

In a first step 1502, a transmitter (TX) receives sensor data. Thetransmitter establishes a connection with a receiver (RX). Thetransmitter and receiver communicate information and data over thecommunications signal, using a wireless communication protocol capableof transmitting information between two processors of electricaldevices, such as Bluetooth®. For example, the transmitter may scan for areceiver's broadcasting signals or visa-versa, or a receiver maytransmit a signal to the transmitter. The signal may announce thereceiver's presence to the transmitter, or the transmitter's presence tothe receiver, and may trigger an association between the transmitter andthe receiver. Once the transmitter identifies the receiver, thetransmitter may establish the connection associated in the transmitterwith the receiver, allowing the transmitter and receiver to communicatesignals. The transmitter may then command that the receiver beginstransmitting data. The receiver measures the voltage among other metricsand may transmit the voltage sample measurement back to the transmitter.The transmitter further receives the information and data from the oneor more internal sensors, the one or more external sensors, and the heatmapping data related to the location of the receiver, the informationabout the one or more electronic devices such as battery usage, and theone or more objects.

In a next step 1504, the transmitter may determine the one or moreparameters. In one embodiment, the microprocessor of the transmitter mayexecute one or more software modules in order to analyze the receiveddata and information, and based on the analysis identify the one or moreparameters. The one or more parameters acts as an input to themicroprocessor to make the necessary selections of the waveforms andtheir output frequency to form the pocket of energy at one or moretargeted locations.

In the next step 1506, the transmitter selects the waveform (e.g., radiofrequency waves, ultrasound waves) to be generated by the waveformgenerator based on the one or more parameters. For example, based on oneset of the one or more parameters the transmitter may select the chirpwaves for transmission, and based on another set of the one or moreparameters, the transmitter may select sine waves for transmission. Thetransmitter may select the chirp waves since the frequency and theamplitude of the chirp waves continually increases or decreases withincreases in the time and distance, and the one or more parameters maysuggest the requirement of the signals that do not have a continuousfrequency over a period of time.

In the next step 1508, the transmitter provides instructions to thewaveform generator to generate the selected waveform such as chirpwaves. The waveforms may also be produced by using an external powersource and a local oscillator chip using a piezoelectric material. Thewaveforms may be controlled by the waveform generator and thetransmitter circuitry, which may include a proprietary chip foradjusting frequency, phase and/or relative magnitudes of waveforms. Thefrequency, phase, gain, amplitude, and other waveform features of thewaveforms are adjusted to form the pocket of energy at the targetedlocations of the one or more electronic devices.

C. Null Steering

FIG. 16 illustrates formation of a null space in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment. Thetransmitter 1602 comprises the one or more antennas in the antennaarray. The transmitter is configured to adjust the phase and amplitudeamong other possible attributes of power waves being transmitted fromantennas of the transmitter 1602 to the receiver 1604. In the absence ofany phase or amplitude adjustment, the power waves may be transmittedfrom each of the antennas of the transmitter 1602 and will arrive atdifferent locations and have different phases. These differences areoften due to the different distances from each antenna of thetransmitter 1602 to receivers located at the respective locations. Inorder to form the pocket of energy, the power waves transmitted by thetransmitter 1602 arrive at the receiver 1604 exactly in phase with oneanother and combine to increase the amplitude of the each wave to resultin a composite wave that is stronger than each constituent power wave.

In the illustrated figure, the receiver 1604 may receive multiple powertransmission signals from the transmitter 1602. Each of the multiplepower transmission signals comprising power waves from multiple antennasof the transmitter 1602. The composite of these power transmissionsignals may be essentially zero, because the power waves add together tocreate the null space. That is, the antennas of the transmitter 1602 maytransmit the exact same power transmission signal, which comprises thepower waves having the same features (e.g., phase, amplitude). Becausethe power waves 1606, 1608 of each power transmission signal have thesame characteristics, when the power waves 1606, 1608 of arrive at thereceiver 1604, the power waves 1606, 1608 are offset from each other by180 degrees. Consequently, the power waves 1606, 1608 transmitted by thetransmitter 1602 cancel or nullify one another.

In one embodiment, based on the communication signal and mapping data(e.g., heat mapping data and/or sensor data), the transmitter 1602 willgenerate power waves based upon an indication of a location of thereceiver 1604. The transmitter 1602 will then generate the null spacebehind the location of the receiver 1604, 1604 or in other locationsproximate to the receiver 1604, or otherwise, where it would beundesirable to have a pocket of energy with power levels exceeding aparticular threshold. In another embodiment, based on the mapping data(e.g., heat mapping data and/or sensor data), the transmitter 1602 willdetermine the location of the one or more objects such as the humanbeings and the animals, and then generate the null space at or near thelocation of the one or more objects, or where it would otherwise beundesirable to have a pocket of energy with power levels exceeding aparticular threshold. The transmitter 1602 will continuously receive thedata from the sensors regarding the one or more objects and the locationof the one or more receivers. The transmitter 1602 on one hand isconfigured to generate the pocket of energy at the location of the oneor more receivers, and on the other hand the transmitter 1602 willgenerate the one or more null spaces outside of the location of thereceivers, and at or near the location of the one or more objects, orwhere it would otherwise be undesirable to have a pocket of energy withpower levels exceeding a particular threshold. The transmitter 1602 isconfigured to constantly measure the distance between the location ofthe one or more objects and the one or more receivers. Based on thedistance, the transmitter 1602 will select the power waves transmittingfrom the one or more antennas of the one or more antenna arrays forcreating the pocket of energy or the null spaces.

In one embodiment, at least two waveforms may be generated by thegenerated by the waveform generator of the transmitter 1602. The atleast two waveforms generated have different frequencies. The change inphase of the frequency of one of the at least two waveforms or allwaveforms of the at least two waveforms may result in formation of aunified waveform. The uniform waveform is such that it will generate thepocket of energy at one or more targeted spots, along with one or morenull spaces in certain areas.

FIG. 17 illustrates a method for forming a null space in a wirelesspower transmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

In a first step 1702, a transmitter (TX) transmits the power waves togenerate the pocket of energy at the location of the one or moretargeted electronic devices. The transmitter transmit power waves thatconverge in three-dimensional space. The power waves are controlledthrough phase and/or relative amplitude adjustments to form the pocketof energy in locations where the pocket of energy is intended. Thepocket of energy is formed by the two or more power waves that convergeat the targeted location in three-dimensional space.

In a next step 1704, the transmitter receives location data of objects.The one or more internal sensors and the one or more external sensorstransmits the data to the transmitter regarding the presence andlocation of the objects within the working area of the transmitter. Theone or more objects may include humans and animals.

In the next step 1706, the transmitter measures the distance betweenobjects and receivers. Once the location data of the objects isreceived, the transmitter measures the distance between the locationdata of the objects and the location of the one or more receivers (e.g.,as identified in the process described in FIG. 2) where the pocket ofenergy is directed. The transmitter is further configured to measure thedistance between location data of the one or more objects from thetransmitter and the power waves. Based on these measurements of variousdistances, the transmitter then determines whether to generate the nullspaces or not, and if yes, the location of the null spaces.

In the next step 1708, if the transmitter determines that the objectsare close to the pocket of energy with a power level that exceeds agiven threshold, the transmitter creates a null space at or proximate tothe location of the pocket of energy, or corresponding to the locationof the objects. In some circumstances, transmitter can create a nullspace at the location where a pocket of energy is intended to begenerated, when an object is detected at the same location as theintended pocket of energy. In these circumstances, the transmitted powerwaves cancel each other out, resulting in no significant energy beingtransmitted to the location containing the object.

D. Configurations of Transmitter Antenna Array

i. Spacing of Antennas in Antenna Array

FIG. 18 illustrates arrangement of antennas in an antenna array of awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

In one implementation, the system for wireless power transmissioncomprises the one or more transmitters. Each of the one or moretransmitters comprises one or more antenna arrays. In the illustrativeembodiment, a single antenna array 1802 is shown. Each of the one ormore antenna arrays comprises one or more antennas to transmit one ormore power waves. In the illustrative embodiment, the single antennaarray 1802 comprises a plurality of antennas 1804. The antennas of theone or more antennas are spaced from each other such that the one ormore power waves transmitted by the plurality of antennas are directedto form the pocket of energy to power the targeted electronic device.

The system for wireless power transmission further comprises a receiverconfigured to receive the pocket of energy generated using the one ormore power waves transmitted by the one or more antennas in the one ormore antenna arrays of the one or more transmitters. In an embodiment,the height of at least one antenna of the one or more antennas on thetransmitter can be from about ⅛ inches to about 1 inch, and the width ofthe at least one antenna can be from about ⅛ inches to about 1 inch. Adistance between two adjacent antennas in an antenna array can bebetween ⅓ to 12 Lambda. In one embodiment, the distance can be greaterthan 1 Lambda. The distance can be between 1 Lambda and 10 Lambda. Inone embodiment, the distance can be between 4 Lambda and 10 Lambda.

The antennas of the one or more antennas in the antenna array are placedat a pre-defined distance with respect to each other such that the oneor more power waves transmitted by the antennas are directed to form thepocket of energy at the receiver. Further, each of the one or moreantennas are positioned at the pre-defined distance with respect to eachother in a 3-dimensional space such that the one or more power wavestransmitted by each of the one or more antennas do not form the pocketof energy outside the receiver. Further, each of the one or moreantennas are positioned at the pre-defined distance with respect to eachother in a 3-dimensional space such that the one or more power wavestransmitted by each of the one or more antennas are directed to form thepocket of energy at the receiver, wherein the energy within the pocketof energy is greater than the energy present outside a periphery of thereceiver because of the one or more power waves.

In one embodiment, the one or more antennas are fixed upon movableelements and the distance between the one or more antennas in each ofthe one or more antenna arrays is dynamically adjusted depending onlocation of the receiver such that the one or more power wavestransmitted by the one or more antennas are directed to form the pocketof energy at the receiver. The movable elements are any mechanicalactuators that are controlled by the microprocessor of the transmitter.The microprocessor of the transmitter receives the information from theone or more internal sensors, the one or more external sensors, and theheat mapping data regarding the location of the receiver or the targetedelectronic device, and based on some or all of this sensor data, themicroprocessor controls the movement of the mechanical actuators onwhich the antennas are mounted.

In one embodiment, the one or more antennas in each of the one or moreantenna arrays are positioned at the pre-defined distance from eachother that allows the mutual coupling between the one or more antennas,and wherein the mutual coupling is inductive or capacitive couplingbetween the plurality of antennas.

The one or more antennas of each of the one or more antenna arrays areconfigured to transmit the one or more power waves at a different timefrom each other because of the placement of the one or more antennas. Inanother embodiment, the one or more antennas of each of the one or moreantenna arrays are configured to transmit the one or more power waves ata different time from each other because of a presence of timing circuitthat is controlled by the microprocessor of the transmitter. The timingcircuit can be used to select a different transmission time for each ofthe one or more antennas. In one example, the microprocessor maypre-configure the timing circuit with the timing of transmission of theone or more transmission waves from each of the one or more antennas. Inanother example, based on the information received from the one or moreinternal sensors, the one or more external sensors, and thecommunication signal, the transmitter may delay the transmission of fewtransmission waves from few antennas.

In yet another embodiment, there is provided the system for wirelesspower transmission. The system comprises a transmitter. The transmittercomprises the one or more antenna arrays. Each of the one or moreantenna arrays comprises a plurality of antennas. The plurality ofantennas transmit one or more power waves. The transmitter furthercomprises the microprocessor configured to activate a first set ofantennas of the plurality of antennas based on the target for directinga pocket of energy using the one or more power waves. The first set ofantennas is selected from the one or more antennas based on distancebetween antennas of the first set of antennas that corresponds to thedesired spacing of the antennas to form the pocket of energy. In otherwords, the distance selected between antennas of the first set ofantennas is such that the adjacent antennas are preferably far away fromeach other, and the one or more power waves transmitting from the firstset of antennas forms the pocket of energy to power the targetedelectronic device.

In one implementation, the transmitter comprises the antenna circuitconfigured to switch, each of the one or more antennas in the antennaarray, on or off based on the communication signals. The communicationsignals may be received from the one or more internal sensors, the oneor more external sensors, or the heat mapping data. In one embodiment,the antenna array is configured such that the power wave direction canbe steered in a first direction by switching on a first set of antennaof the one or more antennas, and the power waves direction of theantenna array can be steered in a second direction by switching on asecond set of antennas of the one or more antennas. The second set ofantennas can include one or more antennas from the first set ofantennas, or the second set of antennas may not include any antennasfrom the first set. In one embodiment, the power wave direction of theantenna array can be steered in a plurality of directions by switchingon a set of antennas from the one or more antennas for each of theplurality of directions. The selections of antennas in the first set ofantennas and the second set of antennas are based upon the distancesbetween the antennas in the first set of antennas and the second set ofantennas. The distances are so chosen that the power waves emerging outof the first set, second set or any set of antennas generate theefficient pocket of energy at the desired locations.

In one implementation, the spacing between the antennas that willtransmit the transmission waves for generating the pocket of energy isdetermined based on the location of the receiver where the pocket ofenergy has to be created. The transmitter will determine the location ofthe receiver. In one example, the location of the receiver is measuredusing the communication signals such as Bluetooth signals transmitted bythe receiver over the communication component. The location of thereceiver may be used by microprocessor in order to adjust and/or selectantennas from the plurality of antennas to form pockets of energy thatmay be used by the receiver in order to charge an electronic device.

In one embodiment, the antenna array comprises 1000 antennas. Theantenna switching circuit configured to connect any number of the 1000antennas at a given time. The switching circuit comprises a signalsplitter adapted to split a signal into any number of signals. Inaddition, the switching circuit includes 1000 number of switches, andswitching circuit adapted to control the number of switches so that aspecified set of the number of 1000 antennas are switched on. Theswitching circuit may comprise micro electro-mechanical system switches.In another embodiment, the switching circuit may comprise a filteradapted to separate transmit and receive signals to/from the antennaarray.

In another embodiment, the antenna array comprises Z number of theantennas, and the switching circuitry is configured to control X numberof antennas at a given time. In accordance with this embodiment, theswitch circuit comprises a signal splitter adapted to split a signalinto X number of signals, a switching matrix comprising X number of 1×Zswitches, and switch circuit adapted to control the switching matrix sothat a contiguous set of the X-number of the antennas are activated. Insome embodiments, the 1×Z switches comprise multiplexers.

ii. Shape of Antenna Array Configuration

FIG. 19 illustrates arrangement of a plurality of antenna arrays in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

In an embodiment, the system for wireless power transmission isprovided. The system comprises the transmitter. The transmittercomprises at least two antenna arrays. In one example, the at least twoantenna arrays comprises a first antenna array 1902 and a second antennaarray 1904. It should be noted that for the simplicity of explanationonly the system with the first antenna array 1902 and the second antennaarray 1904 is being described, however more than two antenna arrays maybe included in the system without moving out from the scope of thedisclosed embodiments. Each of the first antenna array 1902 and thesecond antenna array 1904 comprises one or more rows and one or morecolumns of antennas configured to transmit one or more power waves. Thetransmitter further comprises the microprocessor. The microprocessor isconfigured to control the spacing between the first antenna array 1902and the second antenna array 1904. The first antenna array 1902 of theat least two arrays is spaced to be offset at the pre-defined distancebehind the second antenna array 1904 of the at least two arrays in the3-dimensional space such that the one or more power waves transmitted bythe antennas of each of the first antenna array 1902 and the secondantenna array 1904 are directed to form the pocket of energy to powerthe targeted electronic device. The first antenna array 1902 and thesecond antenna array 1904 are positioned at the pre-defined distancefrom each other depending on the location of the targeted electronicdevice. In other words, the pre-defined distance is selected by thetransmitter based on the location of the targeted electronic device.

In an embodiment, the distance between the first antenna array 1902 andthe second antenna array 1904 is dynamically adjusted depending on thelocation of the targeted electronic device such that the one or morepower waves transmitted by antennas of the first antenna array 1902 andthe second antenna array 1904 are directed to form the pocket of energyat the targeted electronic device. In an embodiment, the first antennaarray 1902 and the second antenna array 1904 are flat shaped and theoffset distance between the at least two antenna arrays is 4 inches.

iii. Multiple Arrays

FIG. 20 illustrates arrangement of a plurality of antenna arrays in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

In an embodiment, the system for wireless power transmission isprovided. The system comprises the transmitter. The transmittercomprises at least two antenna arrays. In one example, the at least twoantenna arrays comprises a first antenna array 2002 and a second antennaarray 2004. It should be noted that for the simplicity of explanationonly the system with the first antenna array 2002 and the second antennaarray 2004 is being described, however more than two antenna arrays maybe included in the system without moving out from the scope of thedisclosed embodiments. Each of the first antenna array 2002 and thesecond antenna array 2004 comprises one or more rows and one or morecolumns of antennas configured to transmit one or more power waves.

In one embodiment, the first antenna array 2002 and the second antennaarray 2004 are both used for creation of the pocket of energy at thesame time. In another embodiment, the first antenna array 2002 and thesecond antenna array 2004 are both used for creation of the null spaceat the same time. In yet another embodiment, the first antenna array2002 and the second antenna array 2004 are both used for creation of thepocket of energy and the null space at the same time.

iv. Three-Dimensional Array Configuration

FIG. 21 illustrates an antenna array configuration in a wireless powertransmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

In one embodiment, an antenna array 2102 having a particular array sizeand shape is disclosed. The antenna array 2102 described herein is athree dimensional antenna array. The shape of the three-dimensionalantenna array may include, but not limited to, arbitrary shaped planarantenna arrays as well as cylindrical, conical, and spherical. Theantenna array comprises the one or more antennas of a particular type,size and shape. For example, one type of antennas is a so-called patchantenna having a square shape and a size compatible with operation at aparticular frequency (e.g. 10 GHz). Further, the antennas are arrangedin a square configuration and having a spacing, e.g., of one wavelength(1λ). Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additionalor alternative shapes, spaces, and types of antennas may also be used.One skilled in the art would also appreciate that the size of one ormore antennas may be selected for operation at any frequency in the RFfrequency range (e.g., any frequency in the range of about 900 MHz toabout 100 GHz). The types of antennas that may be used in the antennaarray of the present disclosure may include, but are not limited to,notch elements, dipoles, or slots, or any other antennas well known tothose of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, reference will be madeherein to generation of an antenna power transmission wave having aparticular shape or power transmission wave-width based on the shape ofthe antenna array. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat antenna power waves having other shapes and widths may also be usedand may be provided using well-known techniques such as by inclusion ofamplitude and phase adjustment circuits into appropriate locations inthe antenna feed circuit.

In one embodiment, the three dimensional antenna arrays are used in thewireless power transmission system of the present disclosure. The threedimensional antenna array may be of two types. The two types comprise anactive antenna array and a passive antenna array. The active antennaarray includes active devices such as semiconductor devices to aid intransmission of the power waves. The passive antenna array does not aidin the transmission of the power waves. The phase characteristicsbetween the antennas of the array are provided in some way in either theactive or passive arrays. In one embodiment, the active antenna arraywill generally include controllable phase-shifters which can be used toadjust the phase of the RF waves being fed to one (or to a subset) ofthe antennas of the array. In another embodiment, the need for aphase-shifting power transmission wave-former may be avoided by using anon-phase-controlled signal amplitude divider in conjunction withcontrol of the phase control elements associated with each antenna orsubset of antennas. Thus, in general, the active antenna array comprisesthe plurality of antennas and radio frequency circuits connected to theantennas. The active antenna array is an antenna system for imparting anappropriate phase difference or the phase difference and an appropriategain difference to a RF signal to be transmitted, of each antenna. Thus,directional power transmission wave scan can be performed or anarbitrary directional power transmission wave can be realized. Theactive antenna array may further have a transmit amplifier and a receiveamplifier associated with each antenna or subset of antennas.

In an alternative or additional embodiment, the antenna array includesthe cubical shaped surface. In order to point a power wave in aparticular direction with maximum gain or a desired gain, to generatethe pocket of energy, it may be preferable to select (i.e., activate) asmany antennas of the plurality of the antennas as possible, or at leasta pre-selected number of antennas. Because of the shape of the array notbeing linear, the shape will cause the phase differences between theantennas. For example, one antenna, which may be considered as thereference antenna, will produce a gain pattern or radiation pattern thathas a main lobe axis in the desired power transmission wave direction.Other antennas also will have radiation patterns, which can contributeto the power transmission wave gain in the desired direction, butbecause of the shape of the array, phase differences caused by thecontour of the antenna surface will limit the cluster size that mayproduce a useful antenna power transmission wave shape. In oneimplementation, the phase differences are caused by the location of theantennas with respect to reference antenna that has the radiationpattern in the desired direction. For example, reference antenna pointsits power transmission wave perpendicular to its aperture. Because ofthe shape of the array, other antennas do not point in the samedirection, and in addition, their signal phases are not aligned with thesignal from reference antenna. In most instances, the phase shift isgreater for elements further away from reference element and is afunction of the angle between plane and the surface of the antennaarray. Because of the phase shift, there is a loss of coherence betweenthe signal from reference antenna and all other antenna in its clusterand on the antenna array. The phase-delayed waves will have componentsthat can add to the overall wave, but at a certain point, will alsosubtract or cancel from the wave. This limits the size of the cluster,and hence, the maximum gain of a cluster array.

In another embodiment, the one or more antennas comprise a first set ofantennas and a second set of antennas. The first set of antennas and thesecond set of antennas are placed at a different angles in relation tothe non-planar shaped antenna array surface of the three dimensionalarray. By selecting which antennas should transmit power waves, theshape of the three dimensional array can be dynamically adjusted basedon the location of the receiver. In an alternative embodiment, one ormore antenna arrays can have a particular configuration based upon apredetermined, predicted, or expected receiver location.

A first antenna can be positioned at a distance from a second antenna,where both antennas transmit power waves to the receiver wherein thepocket of energy is generated at receiver. It may be desirable to have adistance between the first and second antennas such that the transmittedpower waves are not substantially parallel to each other. An optimaldistance between the first and second antennas is based upon thedistance of a receiver, a size of a room, frequency of the power waves,and an amount of power to be transmitted.

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2202 are arranged in the antennaarray 2204. As illustrated in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the antenna array 2204is a 3-dimensional antenna array. The increased spacing between theplurality of antennas 2202 in the antenna array 2204 results in the size(or pocket size) of the pocket of energy to be small as represented inFIG. 22C. In this example, the configuration of the antenna array 2204is 40″×40″.

FIGS. 23A and 23B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2302 are arranged in the antennaarray 2304. The antenna array 2304 is a 3-dimensional antenna array. Asillustrated in FIGS. 23A and 23B, the addition of depth in thearrangement of the plurality of antennas 2302 in the antenna array 2304results in the size (or pocket size) of the pocket of energy to be smallas represented in FIG. 23C. In this example, the configuration of theantenna array 2304 is 40″×40″×5″.

FIGS. 24A and 24B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2402 are arranged in the antennaarray 2404. The antenna array 2404 is a 3-dimensional antenna array. Asillustrated in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the nonlinear spacing between theplurality of antennas 2402 in the antenna array 2404 results in thechange in the distribution of energy by the one or more power waveformsaround the size (pocket size) of the pocket of energy as represented inFIG. 24C. The nonlinear spacing represented in the figures islogarithmic spacing. In this example, the configuration of the antennaarray 2404 is 40″×40″.

FIGS. 25A and 25B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2502 are arranged in the antennaarray 2504. The antenna array 2504 is a 3-dimensional antenna array. Asillustrated in FIGS. 25A and 25B, the nonlinear spacing between theantennas 2502 in the antenna array 2504, results in the change in thedistribution of energy by the one or more power waveforms around thesize (pocket size) of the pocket of energy as represented in FIG. 25C.The nonlinear spacing represented in the figures is logarithmic spacing.In this example, the configuration of the antenna array 2504 is40″×40″×6″.

FIGS. 26A and 26B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2602 are arranged in the antennaarray 2604. The antenna array 2604 is a 3-dimensional antenna array. Asillustrated in FIGS. 26A and 26B, the increase in the distance betweenthe plurality of antennas 2602 in the antenna array 2604 results in thecreation of multiple power waves that do not cancel each other and thusresults in producing a large pocket of energy as represented in FIG.26C. In this example, the configuration of the antenna array 2604 is13″×75″.

FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2702 are arranged in the antennaarray 2704. The antenna array 2704 is a 3-dimensional antenna array. Asillustrated in FIGS. 27A and 27B, the decrease in the distance betweenthe plurality of antennas 2702 in the antenna array 2704 results in thecreation of strong power waves that do not cancel each other and thusresults in producing a large pocket of energy as represented in FIG.27C. In this example, the configuration of the antenna array 2704 is8″×16″.

FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2802 are arranged in the antennaarray 2804. The antenna array 2804 is a 3-dimensional antenna array. Asillustrated in FIGS. 28A and 28B, the spacing/distance between theplurality of antennas 2802 in the antenna array 2804 along with the sizeof antenna array 2804 results in the production of the pocket of energyas represented in FIG. 28C. In this example, the configuration of theantenna array 2804 is 45″×93″.

FIGS. 29A and 29B illustrate an antenna array configuration in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The plurality of antennas 2902 are arranged in the antennaarray 2904. The antenna array 2904 is a 3-dimensional antenna array. Asillustrated in FIGS. 29A and 29B, the spacing/distance between theplurality of antennas 2902 in the antenna array 2904 along with the sizeof antenna array 2904 results in the production of the pocket of energyas represented in FIG. 29C. In this example, the configuration of theantenna array 2904 is 30″×63″.

FIGS. 30 and 31 illustrate an antenna array configuration in a wirelesspower transmission system, according to an exemplary embodiment. Thetransmitter comprises one or more antennas configured to transmit one ormore power waves for forming the pocket of energy to power the targetedelectronic device. The one or more antennas are positioned on anon-planar shaped antenna array surface of a three dimensional arrayselected from the group consisting of a concave shape and a convexshape. The non-planar shape may also be selected from the groupconsisting of a spherical concave shape, a spherical convex shape, aparabolic concave shape, and a parabolic convex shape. In oneembodiment, the one or more antennas in the three-dimensional antennaarray are positioned in such a way with respect to each other due to thenon-planar shaped antenna array surface that the one or more power wavestransmitted by the one or more antennas do not form the pocket of energyoutside a periphery of a receiver, as described in FIGS. 11-16. Inanother embodiment, the one or more antennas in the three-dimensionalantenna array are positioned in such a way with respect to each otherdue to the non-planar shaped antenna array surface that the one or morepower waves transmitted by the one or more antennas are directed to formthe pocket of energy at a receiver which is greater than the energypresent outside a periphery of a receiver.

V. Exemplary Wireless Power Transmission Method, Using Heat Mapping andSensors

FIG. 32 illustrates a method 3200 for forming a pocket of energy in awireless power transmission system, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

At a first step 3202, a transmitter (TX) receives data (e.g., heat-mapdata) indicating a location of a receiver (RX), and also establishes aconnection with the receiver according to one or more protocols used tocommunicate via a communications signal. That is, the transmitter andthe receiver may communicate various types of data, such as heat-mapdata, over the communications signal, using a wireless communicationsprotocol capable of transmitting information between two processors ofelectrical devices (e.g., NFC, ZigBee®, Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi), where thewireless communications protocol ordinarily accomplishes some routinesestablishing an association between the transmitter and the receiver.Once the transmitter identifies the receiver, the transmitter mayestablish the connection associated in the transmitter with thereceiver, allowing the transmitter and receiver to communicate. Afterthe association is established, then in current step 3202, the receivermay transmit heat-map data to the transmitter, indicating a location(e.g., coordinates, segment) where the receiver may be found in thetransmission field.

At a next step 3204, the transmitter transmits power waves to generate apocket of energy at the location of the receiver. The transmittertransmit the power waves that converge in the three-dimensional space.The power waves may be controlled through phase and/or relativeamplitude adjustments to form the pocket of energy at the receiverlocation where the pocket of energy is intended. In one embodiment, thepocket of energy is formed by the two or more power waves that convergeat the receiver location in the three-dimensional space.

At a next step 3206, the transmitter receives location data of a livingbeing or a sensitive object. One or more sensors acquire sensor dataindicating presence of the living being or the sensitive object, andthen communicate raw or processed sensor data to the transmitter. Theone or more sensors may acquire and communicate location-related sensordata indicating the location of living beings or other sensitive object.In an embodiment, one or more sensors acquire and communicate to thetransmitter location-related information, and at least one non-locationattribute of the living being or sensitive object. In an embodiment, atleast one non-location attribute of the living being or sensitive objectincludes one or more of pyro-electric sensor responses, optical sensorresponses, ultrasound sensor responses, and millimeter sensor responses.

At a next step 3208, the transmitter measures the distance between theliving being or the sensitive object and the power waves. In oneembodiment, the transmitter compares the location data for the livingbeing or sensitive object against the location of the power waves(transmitted between the transmitter and the receiver). The transmitteralso compares the location data for the living being or sensitive objectagainst planar coordinates (e.g., one-dimensional coordinates,two-dimensional coordinates, or three-dimensional coordinates, or polarcoordinates) associated with the location of the receiver whosecoordinates may be stored in a mapping memory of the transmitter. Thetransmitter compares the power levels generated by the power wavesagainst one or more maximum permissible power level for the living beingor the sensitive object. If the transmitter determines the distancebetween the living being or the sensitive object and the power wavesindicate not enough proximity. In other words, the power levelsgenerated by the power waves are comparatively lower than the one ormore maximum permissible power level at the location of the living beingor the sensitive object, then the transmitter continues to transmit thepower waves, thereby forming the pocket of energy at the location of thereceiver.

If the transmitter determines the distance between the living being orthe sensitive object and the power waves or the path of the power wavesindicate proximity (i.e., the power levels generated by the power wavesis higher than or closer to the one or more maximum permissible powerlevel at the location of the living being or the sensitive object), thenthe transmitter at step 3210, adjust the power waves based on thelocation of the living being or the sensitive object. In some case, thetransmitter reduces the power level of the power waves at the receiverlocation. In some cases, the transmitter terminates transmission of thepower waves to the receiver location. In some cases, the transmitterdiminishes the amount of energy of the power waves at the receiverlocation. In some embodiments, the transmitter redirects thetransmission of the power waves around the living being or the sensitiveobject. In some embodiments, the transmitter creates a null space at orproximate to the location of the receiver or corresponding to thelocation of the living being or the sensitive object. In some instances,the transmitter creates the null space at the location where the pocketof energy is being generated when the living being or the sensitiveobject is detected at the same location as the intended pocket ofenergy. In these circumstances, the transmitted power waves cancel eachother out resulting in no significant energy being transmitted to thelocation of the living being or the sensitive object.

In one embodiment, each of the one or more antennas have a same size,and at least one antenna in the one or more antennas of the transmitteris selected from the group consisting of: a flat antenna, a patchantenna, and a dipole antenna. The one or more antennas of thetransmitter are configured to operate in a frequency band ranging fromabout 900 MHz to about 100 GHz, including about 1 GHz, 5.8 GHz, 24 GHz,60 GHz, and 72 GHz. The one or more antennas are configured to transmitthe one or more power waves at a different time from each otherdepending on the placement of the one or more antennas in the at leastone three dimensional antenna array.

The one or more antennas are evenly spaced within the three-dimensionalantenna array. The one or more antennas are also asymmetrically locatedwithin the three-dimensional antenna array, and therefore thethree-dimensional antenna array allow the transmission of the one ormore power waves into any one of large range of directions. In anotherembodiment, the one or more antennas can be evenly spaced on the antennaarray, asymmetrically located on the antenna array, or both, therebyallowing the transmission of the one or more power waves in a wide rangeof directions. In yet another embodiment, the one or more antennas canbe unevenly spaced on the antenna array, asymmetrically located on theantenna array, or both, thereby allowing the transmission of the one ormore power waves in a wide range of directions. In another embodiment,the one or more antennas in the three dimensional array are arranged intwo, two-dimensional arrays.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthe steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order.Words such as “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the orderof the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader throughthe description of the methods. Although process flow diagrams maydescribe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operationscan be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order ofthe operations may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method,a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

Embodiments implemented in computer software may be implemented insoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguages, or any combination thereof. A code segment ormachine-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, asubprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

The actual software code or specialized control hardware used toimplement these systems and methods is not limiting of the invention.Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and methods weredescribed without reference to the specific software code beingunderstood that software and control hardware can be designed toimplement the systems and methods based on the description herein.

When implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable orprocessor-readable storage medium. The steps of a method or algorithmdisclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executable softwaremodule, which may reside on a computer-readable or processor-readablestorage medium. A non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readablemedia includes both computer storage media and tangible storage mediathat facilitate transfer of a computer program from one place toanother. A non-transitory processor-readable storage media may be anyavailable media that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such non-transitory processor-readable media maycomprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othertangible storage medium that may be used to store desired program codein the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessedby a computer or processor. Disk and disc, as used herein, includecompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method oralgorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/orinstructions on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and/orcomputer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computerprogram product.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a transmitter configured toreceive sensor data from a sensor device coupled to the transmitter,determine whether the sensor data identifies an object to avoid, andtransmit one more power waves that avoid the object and converge to forma pocket of energy capable of being harnessed by a receiver to providepower to an electronic device coupled to the receiver.
 2. A method forwireless power transmission comprising: transmitting, by a transmitter,power waves that converge in a three dimensional space to form one ormore first pockets of energy at a predetermined location for receivingby an antenna element of a receiver, wherein the receiver is configuredto harvest power from the one or more first pockets of energy at thepredetermined location; acquiring, by at least one sensor incommunication with the transmitter, data indicating presence of a livingbeing or a sensitive object; obtaining, by the transmitter, informationrelating to a location of the living being or the sensitive object basedupon the data indicating the presence of the living being or thesensitive object; and determining, by the transmitter, whether to adjusta power level of the power waves that converge in the three dimensionalspace to form the one or more first pockets of energy at thepredetermined location in response to the information relating to thelocation of the living being or the sensitive object.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising reducing, by the transmitter, the powerlevel of the power waves that converge in the three dimensional space toform the one or more first pockets of energy at the predeterminedlocation when the information relating to the location of the livingbeing or the sensitive object indicates that the living being or thesensitive object is proximate to the three dimensional space at thepredetermined location.
 4. The method of claim 2, further comprisingterminating, by the transmitter, the power waves that converge in thethree dimensional space to form the one or more first pockets of energyat the predetermined location when the information relating to thelocation of the living being or the sensitive object indicates that theliving being or the sensitive object is proximate to the threedimensional space at the predetermined location.
 5. The method of claim2, further comprising activating, by the transmitter, an alarm elementwhen the information relating to the location of the living being or thesensitive object indicates that the living being or the sensitive objectis proximate to the three dimensional space at the predeterminedlocation.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one sensorcomprises a first sensor located at a first position on the transmitter,and a second sensor located at a second position on the transmitterseparated from the first position, and wherein the information relatingto a location of the living being or the sensitive object comprisesstereoscopic location information based upon the data indicating thepresence of the living being or the sensitive object acquired by thefirst sensor and acquired by the second sensor.
 7. The method of claim2, wherein the data indicating the presence of the living being or thesensitive object being indicates a distance of the living being or thesensitive object from the at least one sensor.
 8. The method of claim 2,wherein the information relating to a location of the living being orthe sensitive object includes information indicating a motion of theliving being or the sensitive object based upon a series at differenttimes of the data indicating the presence of the living being or thesensitive object.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:reducing, by the transmitter, the power level of the power waves whenthe information indicating the motion of the living being or thesensitive object indicates motion of the living being or the sensitiveobject toward the three dimensional space at the predetermined location;and terminating, by the transmitter, the power waves when theinformation relating to the location of the living being or thesensitive object indicates arrival of the living being or the sensitiveobject within the three dimensional space at the predetermined location.10. The method of claim 2, wherein acquiring data indicating thepresence of the living being or the sensitive object further comprises:acquiring, by at least one sensor in communication with the transmitter,human recognition data, the human recognition data comprising one ormore of types of data selected from the group consisting of: bodytemperature data, infrared range-finder data, motion data, activityrecognition data, silhouette data, gesture data, heart rate data,portable devices data, and wearable devices data.
 11. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the transmitting step further comprises: transmitting,by the transmitter, the power waves that converge in the threedimensional space to form the one or more first pockets of energy at thepredetermined location, and electromagnetic energy waves that convergeto form one or more second pockets of energy at a second locationseparated from the predetermined location,
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the transmitter reduces the power level of the power waves whenthe data relating to the location of the living being or the sensitiveobject indicates the living being or the sensitive object is proximateto the three dimensional space at the predetermined location, and 13.The method of claim 11, wherein the transmitter reduces the power levelof the electromagnetic energy waves when the data relating to thelocation of the living being or the sensitive object indicates theliving being or the sensitive object is proximate to the second locationseparate from the predetermined location.
 14. The method of claim 2,wherein the at least one sensor comprises a first sensor providing afirst type of data indicating the presence of the living being or thesensitive object, and a second sensor providing a second type of dataindicating the presence of the living being or the sensitive object, andwherein at least one of the first type of data and the second type ofdata indicates absolute location in three dimensional space of theliving being or the sensitive object.
 15. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising the step, by one or more of the at least one sensor and thetransmitter, of filtering the data indicating the presence of the livingbeing or the sensitive object to eliminate false indications of thepresence of the living being or the sensitive object in the informationrelating to a location of the living being or the sensitive object basedupon the data indicating the presence of the living being or thesensitive object.
 16. The method of claim 2, further comprising:calculating, by the transmitter, a predetermined transmission path ofthe power waves that converge in the three dimensional space to form theone or more first pockets of energy at the predetermined location;comparing, by the transmitter, the predetermined transmission path ofthe power waves with the information relating to the location of theliving being or the sensitive object; and redirecting, by thetransmitter, the predetermined transmission path of the power waves whenthe comparing indicates that the living being or the sensitive object islocated in proximity to the predetermined transmission path of the powerwaves.
 17. A transmitter for wireless power transmission comprising: atleast two antennas; a controller that controls power waves broadcast bythe transmitter through the at least two antennas that converge in athree dimensional space to form one or more pockets of energy at apredetermined location for receiving by an antenna element of areceiver; a transmitter housing containing the at least two antennas;and at least one sensor located on the transmitter housing to sensepresence of a living being or a sensitive object, and to communicate tothe controller data relating to the presence of the living being or thesensitive object; wherein the controller determines whether to adjust apower level of the power waves that converge in the three dimensionalspace to form the one or more pockets of energy at the predeterminedlocation in response to the data relating to the presence of the livingbeing or the sensitive object.
 18. The transmitter of claim 17, whereinthe controller reduces the power level of the power waves that convergein the three dimensional space to form the one or more pockets of energyat the predetermined location, when the data relating to the presence ofthe living being or the sensitive object indicates that the living beingor the sensitive object is proximate to the three dimensional space atthe predetermined location.
 19. The transmitter of claim 18, wherein thecontroller terminates the power waves that converge in the threedimensional space to form the one or more pockets of energy at thepredetermined location, when the data relating to the presence of theliving being or the sensitive object indicates that the living being orthe sensitive object is proximate to the three dimensional space at thepredetermined location.
 20. The transmitter of claim 17, wherein the atleast one sensor comprises a first sensor located at a first position onthe transmitter housing, and a second sensor located at a secondposition on the transmitter housing separated from the first position,and wherein the data relating to the presence of the living being or thesensitive object comprises stereoscopic information concerning theliving being or the sensitive object acquired by the first sensor and bythe second sensor.
 21. The transmitter of claim 17, further comprisingan additional sensor located remote from the transmitter housing, andwireless or wired communications from the additional sensor to thecontroller, wherein the additional sensor provides additionalinformation relating to the presence of the living being or thesensitive object, and wherein the controller at least reduces a powerlevel of the one or more pockets of energy when the data relating to thepresence of the living being or the sensitive object and the additionalinformation relating to the presence of the living being or thesensitive object indicates that the living being or the sensitive objectis proximate to the three dimensional space at a predetermined location.22. The transmitter of claim 21, wherein the transmitter is located atleast 2 meter from the receiver, wherein the data relating to thepresence of the living being or the sensitive object being indicates adistance of the living being or the sensitive object from the at leastone sensor, and wherein the additional sensor is a proximity sensorlocated less than 0.5 meter from the receiver.
 23. The transmitter ofclaim 17, wherein the at least one sensor includes one or more of apassive sensor, an active sensor, a smart sensor, an infrared sensor, apyro-electric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, an opticalsensor, an Doppler sensor, an accelerometer, a microwave sensor, amillimeter sensor, a resonant LC sensor, and an RF standing wave sensor.24. The transmitter of claim 17, wherein the data relating to thepresence of the living being or the sensitive object comprises humanrecognition data, and wherein the human recognition data includes one ormore of body temperature data, infrared range-finder data, motion data,activity recognition data, silhouette data, gesture data, heart ratedata, portable devices data, and wearable devices data.
 25. Thetransmitter of claim 15, wherein the at least one sensor includes aprimary data processing function that communicates to the controller thedata relating to the presence of the living being or the sensitiveobject.
 26. A method for wireless power transmission, comprising:transmitting, by a transmitter, power waves that converge in a threedimensional space to form a one or more pockets of energy at apredetermined location for receiving by antenna elements of a receiver,wherein the receiver harvests power from the one or more pockets ofenergy at the predetermined location; acquiring, by a plurality ofsensors in communication with the transmitter, data indicating presenceof a living being or a sensitive object; obtaining, by the transmitter,information relating to a location of the living being or the sensitiveobject based upon the data indicating the presence of the living beingor the sensitive object; and at least reducing, by the transmitter, thepower level of the power waves that converge in the three dimensionalspace to form the one or more pockets of energy at the predeterminedlocation, when the data relating to the presence of the living being orthe sensitive object indicates that the living being or the sensitiveobject is proximate to the three dimensional space at the predeterminedlocation.